Until Death Do Us Part
by xXxShadowOnigirixXx
Summary: SasukexOC I dunno what to write as a summary...
1. Chapter 00

**(UCHIHA) .:[Until Death Do Us Part]:. (SASUKE) - 00**

**NAME:** (DEMON STORM) - TENMA ARASHI

**AGE:** 12

**DOB:** NOVEMBER 11

**HAIR:** BLACK HAIR THAT GOES DOWN TO HER HIPS AND BANGS THAT END ABOVE HER EYES; TIED INTO PIGTAILS WITH RED RIBBONS

**EYES:** PINKISH PURPLE

**HEIGHT:** 4'9" AN INCH OR TWO SHORTER THAN NARUTO

**CLOTHES:** DARK GREY SHORTS THAT END MID-THIGH, BLACK SHIRT UNDER A LIGHT PURPLE JACKET THAT'S LOOSE AND THE SLEEVES END JUST ABOVE HER FINGERTIPS, BLUE NINJA SANDALS

**CLAN:** MOSTLY DEAD - FIGHTING THE KYUUBI; OTHERS ARE SCATTERED

**KEKKAI GENKAI:** ZETSUMEIGAN - ABLE TO SEE CHAKRA IN THE SURROUNDING AREA AND IN OPPONENTS; CAN SOLODIFY THE CHAKRA INTO WEAPONS & OTHER THINGS; WHEN THE ZETSUMEIGAN IS ACTIVATED, THE USERS EYES TURN PURPLE WITH RED RINGS. THE MORE RINGS THE PERSON HAS, THE MORE CONTROL THEY GAIN OVER OUTSIDE CHAKRA (CHAKRA THAT ISN'T THEIRS). THE LEVELS ARE 1 – NO RING, 2 – 1 RING, 3 – 2 RINGS, 4 – 3 RINGS, 5 – 4 RINGS, AND 6 – 5 RINGS

**CHAKRA TYPE(S):** LIGHTNING, WIND, WATER

**AFTER THE FIGHT:** ARASHI WAS ORPHANED AND WAS SENT TO LIVE IN KONOHA'S ORPHANAGE WHERE SHE STAYED UNTIL CONVINCING THE THIRD HOKAGE TO LET HER LIVE ON HER OWN. FRIENDS WITH MOST OF THE KIDS, ESPECIALLY CLOSE TO NARUTO.

**OTHER STUFF:** CARRIES SCROLLS WHICH HAVE THE TENMA CLAN'S JUTSU'S. THE TENMA CLAN IS UNDER CONTRACT WITH SHINIGAMI-SAMA. THROUGHOUT THE CLAN, ONLY TWELVE PEOPLE CAN BE SHINIGAMI-SAMA'S KOIN (ASSISTANT). FOR ANOTHER TENMA CLAN MEMBER TO BECOME SHINIGAMI-SAMA'S KOIN, THEY EITHER INHERIT IT OR KILL A KOIN. FOR EACH SOUL THE KOIN COLLECTS, THEY GAIN A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF YOREKI (FAVORS) WHICH THEY CAN USE FOR PROTECTION FOR THEMSELVES AND COMERADES OR SHORTLY EXTENDING A PERSONS LIFESPAN.


	2. Chapter 01

**(UCHIHA) .:[Until Death Do Us Part]:. (SASUKE) – 01**

"Hey, Naruto-kun!" The blonde boy looked down from hanging on a piece of wood holding a paint brush and a paint can.

"Yeah?" I placed my hands on my hips.

"You know you're gonna get in trouble for this, right?..." He grunted and wiped his cheek with the back of his free hand.

"So what! Not like anyone cares anyways!" He stuck his tongue out at me and I scowled at him.

"I care, stupid!!! Iruka-sensei makes me clean up your messes with you!" Laughing, he started painting on the Hokage's faces again.

"Liar, you wanna help so stop complaining and help me out here!" Grinning, I was about to climb up the ladder he left when I was picked up by my collar. Naruto hadn't noticed yet. I turned around slowly, seeing Iruka-sensei look infuriated. "Oi, Arashi-chan, what's taking you so long?"

"NARUTO!!!" Naruto heard Iruka-sensei's voice and froze, a glob of red paint dripped off his paint brush and fell in front of us.

"Naruto-kun, make a run for it!!!" If I can't get away, at least he would. As if he heard me, he hopped off and made a break for it. While he was running, Iruka-sensei dropped me off in class before chasing Naruto again. This time though, he had reinforcements. I sat down in my usual seat next to Sasuke, waiting for Naruto to get back. Sighing, I folded my arms over each other and set my head down to take a nap.

"Yo, Arashi." I picked up my head to see Kiba. I waved un-energetically. "Naruto gonna get yelled at again?" He asked, grinning.

"Yup." I blew my bangs out of my face. He laughed, showing off his teeth.

"What'd he do this time?"

"Look outside and go away..." I waved my hand in front of my face. "You smell like dog..." He scrunched his face up before shoving his hands in his jacket pocket and walking back up to his seat.

I woke up, hearing Iruka-sensei screaming again. Looking up, I saw Naruto sitting on the floor, tied up.

"TOMORROW IS THE ACADEMY'S GRADUATION EXAM AND YOU'VE FAILED THE LAST TWO TIMES!!!" I flinched at him yelling so loudly. "THIS ISN'T THE TIME TO BE CAUSING TROUBLE, DIOT!" He sighed and crossed his arms, rubbing his temples. "Alright. Because of Naruto, you're all going to have to practice the Henge no Jutsu." A bunch of groans were heard chorusing throughout the room, me included.

"Naruto, this is all your fault." The annoying voice of Yamanaka Ino got several people to agree. Turning to face her, i glared.

"Like I give a damn."

"How is it his fault if Iruka-sensei was the one who decided to make us review. Ugly pig." I turned back around, satisfied heading her whine to Sasuke.

"Haruno Sakura." The pink blob skipped forward and made the handseal. After the puff of smoke went away, a copy of Iruka stood in her place. "Good."

"Did you see that Sasuke-kun?" She asked excitedly before going back to her seat.

"Uchiha Sasuke." Several squeals were heard. Ignoring them, he made the handseal and a near perfect copy stood as emotionless as Sasuke. "Good. Tenma Arashi." I stepped up and wasted no time performing the jutsu. "Good." Walking back to my seat, I put my head on the desk.

"Uzumaki Naruto." He walked up to Iruka-sensei and transformed into a naked girl with long blonde hair in pigtails but the same blue eyes and whisker marks as him. Iruka-sensei has blood dripping from his nose in no time and stuffed it up with tissues. "DON'T WASTE TIME INVENTING STUPID JUTSU'S LIKE THAT!!!" Naruto and I were bursting with laughter before he got serious and turned into Iruka-sensei.

After school, I found Naruto back up at the Hokage's mountain wiping off all the paint. Iruka-sensei was sitting on top of one of the faces watching him.

"I won't let you go until everything is as it should be."

"Like I care, it's not like I have anyone to go home to!" I huffed before jumping up on the wood he was standing on.

"You idiot." I punched his head and picked up a rag and started to help him clean off the paint. "What the hell do you think you're doing saying there's nobody waiting. I don't have anyone either. Stupid." He grinned and got back to scrubbing.

"Hey, Naruto, Arashi..." We both looked up at Iruka-sensei who was scratching his head.

"What?"

"Well... If everything is cleaned up..." I raised an eyebrow and waited for him to continue. "I'll buy you guys some ramen tonight." Naruto and I looked at each other before grinning.

"Ok!! I'll work as hard as I can!! Dattebayo!"

"Me too!"

Iruka-sensei, Naruto, and I were at Ichiraku. I sat next to Naruto who sat next to Iruka-sensei. We all had a bowl of ramen; mine was beef!

"Naruto." Naruto looked up from slurping his noodles. "Why were you doing that to the monument? Don't you know who the Hokage are?"

"That's a dumb question!" I piped up, "Of course he knows!" Naruto nodded in agreement.

"Basically those who get the Hokage title are the strongest shinobi of this village, right? And among them is the Fourth Hokage who saved the village from a demon fox."

"Then why?..." Naruto slurped some more noodles before grinning.

"Well, one day I'm gonna become Hokage!" He pointed his chopsticks at Iruka-sensei. "Then I'll be better then all the previous Hokage!! Dattebayo!" I waved my hand at him.

"Naruto-kun, it's rude to point..." He ignored me and went on.

"And then everyone in the village will acknowledge my strength!!" Setting his chopsticks down, he put his hands together as if he were praying. "Um... Iruka-sensei I have a little request..."

"What? You want a second bowl?" He asked smiling.

"No, no..." He waved his hand. "Can I borrow your forehead protector? 3" Iruka-sensei reached up to fix it.

"No can do. You'll get yours after you graduate. This is a symbol that you've become a ninja. Maybe you'll get yours tomorrow."

"EH! That sucks!" Iruka-sensei started laughing.

"So that's why you took off your goggles!"

"Give me seconds!!!" Naruto demanded. Laughing, I stuck his goggles back on his head.

"What!" He sighed. "Arashi, do you want seconds too?" I raised an eyebrow.

"I haven't even finished my first..."

"To graduate, you'll have to do the Bunshin no Jutsu. When you're called, come into the next room." I gave a sigh of relief.

'This is gonna be a piece of cake!' While I was cheering, I forgot how bad Naruto was at this. Beside me he was freaking out.

"Tenma Arashi!" Getting up, I walked over to the door and took a deep breath before stepping in. Sitting at the table was Iruka-sensei and Mizuki-sensei. As I was the last to be called, there were two headbands sitting there.

'Someone failed?...' I let my mind wander as I did the Bunshin no Jutsu, four clones standing next to me, deep in thought.

"Good. You pass." I blinked.

"Huh?" Iruka-sensei and Mizuki-sensei laughed.

"You passed Arashi. Congratulations!" I grinned and bowed before grabbing a headband and running out the door. I was greeted by the smiling faces of mothers and fathers. All praising their children. My hand went limp and I didn't notice the headband falling out of my hand. I took a deep breath and turned to run home when I bumped into someone.

"Oof!" Landing on my butt, I glared at the person in front of me. It was Sasuke. He had his headband tied on his forehead, keeping his bangs out of his face. In his other hand, he held another headband.

"Hn. What a klutz." I huffed and jumped up, brushing the dust and dirt off my shorts.

"Who're you calling-" He tossed the headband in his hands to me and I fumbled with it, trying not to let it fall.

"You dropped it." With that, he turned and walked away.

"Thanks!!!" Looking around, I noticed Naruto wasn't here so I went home.

I knocked on the door with my ninja registration form in my hands.

"Come in." I opened the door, surprised to see Naruto here.

"Naruto-kun! I didn't see you after the Exam yesterday! Where were you?" He grinned and scratched the back of his head. That's when I noticed something missing. With my headband tied around my neck (figured if anyone tried beheading me they wouldn't have much luck), I pointed at mine then at him with a questioning look.

"I didn't want to scratch it so I left it at home." I grinned before handing Hokage-sama my form. He looked over it then showed it to Naruto.

"Re-take your picture. You look stupid." Pointing to my picture, he continued. "Like this. The shinobi registration book, a list of all the shinobi and their abilities… This is a very important document so what's with the face?!?" I took a glance at his before cracking up with laughter.

"Mah… I don't go well with things like that…" The door started creaking open and some kid with an abnormally long scarf came running in, tripping on it and landed on his face in front of me.

"Oh no! Not again!!!" The voice came from the hallway and the guy came in just in time to see the kid land face first in front of my feet.

"Dammit who set a trap!" I was surprised at his choice of words.

"Are you alright???" The man was dressed in all black and had sunglasses. "And there isn't a trap anywhere…" The got up and looked around. Since I was the closest, he pointed at me.

"I know you were the one who set the trap!"

"Ahh?..." I looked at him boredly before picking up the part of his scarf that dragged. "Hey kid, you tripped on your own damn scarf so don't go blaming stupid things like this on people." He huffed then turned to Naruto.

"Then you-" Before he said anything, Naruto held him up by his collar in front of his face.

"Hey Naruto, let his go! He's the Hokage's grandson!!!" The guy in all black shouted. Naruto and I exchanged glances. I nodded and he let him go. I put a hand on his head and glared at him.

"Oi, brat. What'd I just tell you about accusing people…" He grinned.

"Come then! Go ahead and punch me!" I sighed and looked at Naruto who squinted his eyes. Grinning, I pulled my fist back.

"Sento Tokkan (Lightning Punch)!" I punched him on the head the same time Naruto did except my fist had little sparks of blue coming off it.

"You really think we give a damn who you are?!?" Naruto and I yelled in unison.

"No way!!!" The man in all black exclaimed.

"Hey Naruto-kun, I think that kid is following us…" I sighed.

"Yeah. I've noticed too." Suddenly, Naruto whipped around, pointing at part of the wall. "Stop following us!!!" I walked up in front of the kid.

"Hey kid, you're holding it the wrong way… You're not fooling anyone with that, ya know?" He blushed a bit and I stood up, a little weirded out.

He coughed. "Hehe… Impressive to see through my cover. It seems the rumors about you two are true…"

'What the hell? I've never heard any stupid rumors…'

"Hey! I'll make you my boss!" He pointed at Naruto.

"Eh?? What about me?" I pointed to myself and squatted in front of the kid.

"There's a catch…"

"A catch?..." Naruto and I looked at each other.

"In return… PLEASE TEACH ME THE ORIOKE NO JUTSU YOU DEFEATED GRAMPS WITH!!! PLEASE BOSS???" I slapped a hand on my forehead and dragged it down my face.

"Boss?..." Looks like Naruto was considering it.

'Geez… This kid must be a perv…'

I sat on the floor, an elbow on my crossed legs, holding up my chin.

"Ok, ok! The basics are 'bon kyuu bon'! Got it?" Konohamaru nodded. "Alright, try it!"

"Ossu!!! Henge!" He transformed into a horribly fat and ugly girl. My hand slipped and I started rolling over from laughing.

"Noo!!!" Naruto was waving his hands around.

"More slender!!!"

"Prettier!!!"

I sighed and stood up.

"Hey guys, wanna take a break?" We stopped at a little shop and got tea and dango. They sat on a log and I sat in front of them.

"By the way, why are you going after your grandpa all the time?" Konohamaru scowled and glared at the dirt.

"Gramps names me 'Konohamaru'. I'm named after the village." (BTW PPL!!! 'maru' at the end of a name means it's a boys name. Something like that, ya dig?) "And even though everyone knows my name… nobody ever calls me that. When someone is talking about me or even calling me, all they ever see is the Hokage's grandson. No one sees me as me. That's why I want the title of Hokage." I scoffed.

"Stupid. You can't be Hokage." He glared at me, fists by his sides.

"What???" Naruto picked up after me.

"The Hokage title isn't something a little brat can take. It isn't kids play, moron! The title Hokage. If you want it so bad then…"

"Then…???" Looking Konohamaru in the eyes, Naruto grinned.

"Then beat me first!" He looked shocked a little. I hopped up and grinned.

"I've found you!!!"

"Ahh?..." I looked up and found Konohamaru's trainer on a branch. "What was your name?... Eh… Ebi… Ebi? … Ebisu! What do you want?" He furrowed his brows at me.

Landing on the ground he started. "Now young master, let's go home."

"No!! I'm defeating that old geezer and getting the title Hokage! So don't get in my way!"

"A Hokage must be taught in every aspect of being a shinobi. You must master 1000 skills and then finally… Huh??" Konohamaru made the handseal.

"Henge!" After the smoke cleared, Konohamaru's recent accomplishment stood there, showing off her body. "Take this! Orioke no Jutsu!" She said in a flirtatious voice. When nothing happened, Konohamaru poofed back into his original self. "Eh? It didn't work?..."

"Wh… What a perverted skill!!! I'm a gentleman and such a dirty technique will not work on me!!!" He grabbed onto Konohamaru's scarf and started tugging. "If you hang out with trash like him then you'll become stupid!"

"Let me go!!" I grit my teeth together and launched myself at Ebisu.

"Don't you dare call Naruto-kun trash!!!" His eyes snapped to me with my fist pulled back and sparking. "Sento Tokkan!" His mouth hung open while I punched him in his chest. I put in more chakra so his body was left throwing off sparks for a while. He stood up and brushed himself off. I stood there glaring at him, my fist still sparking and ready for another hit.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" A dozen or so Naruto's stood in the clearing. Ebisu got in a stance.

"Heh. I'm an elite ninja. Not that weakling Mizuki." Apparently he was waiting for an attack but got surprised when Naruto used Henge no Jutsu. A bunch of naked girls that resembled Naruto clung onto him. He shot away, blood shooting from his nose.

"I call that one… Harem no Jutsu!"

"That was awesome boss!!! You defeated my tutor!!!" I laughed at Konohamaru's excitedness. "Alright, I'm gonna be Hokage!!!" He got whacked in the head by Naruto.

"This is the title Hokage. It's not gonna be that easy. With all the bad stuff I've been through… I almost lost myself. But I know that I have at least two people that acknowledges me. But all that was incredibly difficult. So you better prepare yourself."

"P… Prepare myself?..."

"If you want an incredible title like Hokage where everyone will acknowledge you, there ain't gonna be any shortcuts."

"Bah. Stop lecturing me like you know everything. I'm not gonna let you be my boss anymore. From now on… we're rivals!" Naruto chuckled a bit.

"Sorry but tomorrow, Arashi and I will be taking our first steps to becoming ninja. But one day… You and I will definitely fight over the title of Hokage. I'll be looking forward to it. Konohamaru." I smiled, knowing that Naruto had found a new friend. Someone he could count on.


	3. Chapter 02

**(UCHIHA) .:[Until Death Do Us Part]:. (SASUKE) – 02**

Surprisingly, Naruto and I weren't late to the meeting. I sat next to him and next to Sasuke. In the middle so they don't kill each other.

"Hey Naruto, why the hell are you here? Only those who passed are supposed to be here." I turned to see Shikamaru, hands in his pockets.

"Oi, can't you see this forehead protector?" Shikamaru shrugged and went to sit down. I heard familiar bickering coming from the door. Seeing bubblegum head, I nudged Naruto who was already staring at her, hearts in his eyes. She glanced over in his direction and with a smile on her face walked up to our desk. All the while, Naruto was grinning like a fool.

"Hi Sakura-chan!" Snapping at him, she glared.

"Naruto, move your ass so I can sit next to Sasuke-kun!" My hand slipped and my head almost hit the table.

"What the hell!! Seat's taken Haruno." I stood up, one hand on the desk and the other in a fist. She glared at me, hands on her hips. Naruto turned to glare at Sasuke. Sasuke, feeling Naruto's glare, turned to glare back.

"What."

"Whaddya mean 'what'!?" Sakura pounced and landed on Naruto, pushing me aside.

"Sasuke-kun can I sit next to you?"

"Oi!!!" I shoved her away and sat down next to Naruto. She took the chance to sit between Sasuke and I. "Hey move your fat ass somewhere else." She turned to me and held a fist up.

"Shut up Arashi!" I stuck my tongue out, ending the conversation. Naruto was still glaring at Sasuke after seeing Sakura having hearts in her eyes and staring at Sasuke. I sighed and turned to where Naruto was supposed to be.

"Eh?..."

"Naruto get away from Sasuke-kun!!!" I turned, seeing Naruto squatting in front of Sasuke. Both of them were glaring at each other, sparks flying between their eyes.

"Kick his ass Sasuke-kun!!!"

"Ne, Naruto-kun! I wouldn't sit so-"

"No way, really?!" The kid in front of Naruto moved his elbow back, pushing Naruto onto Sasuke. I blinked. They were lip locked. "Sorry about that!.... Oh." Breaking apart, the two started sputtering and choking.

"Naruto, you moron! I'm gonna kill you!"

"Yuck, my mouth is rotting!!!" After a while, Naruto turned around, a horde of angry girls behind him. Sakura at the front, she cracked her knuckles. He shrieked and waved his hands in front of him. "It wasn't my fault, I swear!!!"

"Naruto… You're…" He waited for it, his face blank. "ANNOYING!!!" I sighed and shook my head, not bothering to help him out when they all started attacking him. After a while, he sat down next to me, covered in bumps and bruises.

"Hey why didn't you help…" He whined.

"You got yourself in that mess, stupid."

[][][]

Iruka-sensei came in, probably ready to give a long ass speech on the shinobi life or something like that.

"Starting today, you all are real shinobi. But you are still Genin. The hard journey ahead has just started. Now you will soon get missions to help the village so today we will create three man cells and each team will have a Jounin sensei. You will follow your sensei's instructions in order to successfully complete your missions."

'Three-man teams?... Hope I don't get stuck with a whiney girl…'

"We tried to balance each team's strength. So first. Team 1…"

'This is so annoying! Why couldn't they just pin up the list instead of having us come for a meeting.'

"Ok next is team 7. Haruno Sakura." Next to me, she piped up, sitting straight. "Uzumaki Naruto." He cheered as Sakura let her head drop. "Uchiha Sasuke." They switched expressions and I patted Naruto on the back. "And Tenma Arashi."

"Ahh??? Iruka-sensei! You said that these were three man teams!" He sighed and was about to talk when Naruto interrupted him.

"Iruka-sensei! Why does an outstanding ninja like me have to be stuck with that prick Sasuke!" He stood up and pointed at Sasuke, glaring. Iruka-sensei sighed and put a hand on his head.

"Out of all the 28 graduates, Sasuke graduated with the top marks. Naruto, yours were the worst."

"Ouch…" I would've been snickering had Naruto not been my friend.

"You do understand that we have to balance this, right?" I stood up as well.

"Then why am I in this team? You still didn't answer my question." I saw Iruka-sensei's eye twitching.

"Because in order to balance out Naruto's failing grades, we had to put the top two students in his team." Naruto turned to glare at Sasuke again.

"Bah. Just don't get in my way. Dobe."

"What did you call me?!?"

"Naruto! Don't yell at Sasuke-kun like that!"

"Oi, Haruno! Shut your big mouth up for once! I'm sure Sasuke's all grown up and able to take care of himself!"

"Arashi I'm gonna kill you!!!" I pulled my fist back.

"Just try it!"

"Sasuke, you bastard!"

"Hn."

"Damn you Sasuke!!!" None of us noticed Iruka-sensei walking up to us until he whacked us all on the head, making us all sit down grumbling.

"This afternoon, we'll introduce your Jounin sensei's. Until then, take a break." Naruto was still grumbling while I dragged him out of the room by his collar.

[][][]

"Hey, Naruto. I'll catch up with you later, okay?"

"Uh… okay." I ran away, leaving him there.

[][][]

"KIIIBAAAAAA!!!" I kept pounding my fists on him. "I HATE MY TEAM!!! Except for Naruto…" He laughed and Akamaru barked. I picked him up and spun around. "Thanks for letting me borrow Akamaru!"

"Eh?" I ran away waving. "Oi!!! Arashi, gimmie my dog back!!!!"

[][][]

Trying to find Naruto was hard on my own so using Akamaru's nose, I followed him around town. Suddenly, he jumped onto a ledge.

"Akamaru? Are you sure? That's not his apartment…" He barked and I shrugged, following him. I was surprised to see Sasuke struggling and tied up. "Ahh?..." He glared at me. Crouching down, I ripped off the tape.

"Where's Naruto?!?" I blinked and shrugged.

"I dunno. I'm trying to find him."

"Well then hurry up and untie me!"

"Alright, alright. Geez don't be so pushy…" Taking out a kunai, I cut away the rope and followed him as he jumped out the window, making sure to pick up Akamaru on the way out.

When Sasuke and I saw Sakura, she jumped up.

"Oh Sasuke-kun, you're so shy! 3 I hope you're ready now! I know I am!" She giggled and I raised an eyebrow.

"I have to go. Where's Naruto?" She looked a bit flustered.

"Aw, don't change the subject. Who cares about Naruto?" I instantly glared and held a clenched fist to my side, Akamaru lay on my shoulder. "All he does is cause fights with you! Well, he doesn't have a normal childhood. He doesn't have parents!" My eye twitched and I felt the chakra encircling my fist and arm. "He can do whatever he wants. If I acted like that, my parents would ground me for months! He's so lucky! All alone, parents never telling him what to or what not to do. That's why he always makes trouble."

"All alone…"

"Huh?" I looked at Sasuke, remembering he was worse than Naruto and I. Unlike us, he knew his parents and he felt loved before Itachi murdered everyone.

"The feeling of a parent yelling at you is nothing compared to the loneliness."

"Huh? Sasuke-kun what are you talking about?" I glared at her. She's so stupid. Crushing on a guy she knows nothing about.

"You're annoying." With that, he walked away. Before I followed, I had something to say to her.

"Oi, Haruno. That was really stupid, ya know? And for your information, Naruto doesn't act up just because he can. He does it so because growing up, everyone hated him for nothing. Without the love of parents or siblings, that was the only way people would see him at all. Watch your mouth about Naruto or I won't hesitate to hurt you. He's the closest thing I have to family." She stood there, probably more frozen by Sasuke's words than mine. But oh well. I ran off, letting Akamaru lead. I caught up with Sasuke in the hallway, still chasing after a barking Akamaru. He jumped onto Naruto who was running in our direction. I skidded to a stop before we crashed into each other. He pointed at Sasuke then at me.

"What the hell are YOU doing here???" He stared at Sasuke.

"Real shinobi can untie ropes. Dobe."

"Ahh?... You didn't even untie it…" He shot me a look and I picked up Akamaru, sticking my tongue out at him.

[][][]

I sighed for the billionth time, plucking out a hair and twisting it around my finger till it snapped. Naruto was at the door, peeking his head out and looking up and down the hallway.

"Naruto, just sit down or something…" He scowled.

"Why is our sensei the only one late?!? Even Iruka-sensei went home already!" I heard a chair being pushed around and saw Naruto standing on top of it with an eraser and sticking it in the door.

"Naruto, what are you doing?!?" He hopped off and grinned, examining his work.

"That's what he gets for being late!"

"Geez… I'm not involved with this…" Sakura said. Not very convincing either. I scoffed.

"Like a Jounin would fall for that trap." Sasuke and I said at the same time. We glared at each other then looked to the door as a hand stuck through. Pulling the door open, a silver-haired man stuck his head through and the eraser fell on top of his head, dropping o the ground in a puff of smoke.

"OI!!! He actually fell for it!!!" I jumped up and pointed at him.

"AHAHAHA!!! He fell for it! He fell for it!!!" Naruto clutched his stomach from laughing.

"I'm sorry sensei! I tried to tell him to stop, but he wouldn't listen!!!" Our new sensei picked up the eraser and smiled.

"Hmm… how should I say this?" I raised an eyebrow. "My first impression is… I don't like you guys." We all deadpanned and stared at him disbelievingly.

[][][]

"Well, let's begin with introductions." We sat on the roof of a building. Sensei sat on the railing and us four sat on the steps.

"What should we say?" I pulled a pigtail in front of my face and started combing it.

"How about you likes, dislikes, your hobbies and dreams for the future. Things like that."

"Hey, hey! Why don't you introduce yourself to us first!" Naruto said.

"Yeah… You look kind of suspicious…"

"Oi, Haruno! He's our sensei! But I have to agree with you on that cause he has a mask on…"

"Oh… me? Well my name is Hatake Kakashi. I have no desire to tell you my likes and dislikes. Dreams for the future? Hmm… And I have lots of hobbies."

"Ahh?... What the hell. All we learned was his name…" Naruto and Sakura nodded their heads in agreement.

"Alright. Let's start with you on the right." He pointed at Naruto.

"Yosh!" He started fiddling with his forehead protector. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto! What I like is cup ramen! What I like even more is when Iruka-sensei pays! What I hate is the three minutes you have to wait for the ramen to cook… And my dream… is to surpass the Hokage and then have the people of this village acknowledge my existence!" I smiled at him. "Hobbies… pranks I guess."

"Next." He pointed at Sasuke.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. There are a lot of things I dislike, and I don't really like anything. And… I can't really call it a dream… But an ambition. The resurrection of my clan and to kill a certain man." Sakura stared at him with hearts in her eyes and Naruto sulked, hoping it wasn't him. I huffed.

'Some dream.'

"Okay, you." He pointed at me.

"Tenma Arashi." I started fiddling with my sleeves. "I like normal stuff normal people like. I guess… Uh… I don't like a lot of things like annoying people that talk about things they have no idea about." 'Totally not director to Sakura in any way at all.' "People that think they're better than everyone." 'Not talking about Sasuke at all.' "and waiting. I have a very bad temper at times and I get really impatient too." I pointed out for their sake. "No specific hobby or dream." I shrugged.

"EH??? Arashi-chan, how can you not have a dream?" I stared at Naruto.

"Alright, Alright geez… Well… I guess since technically I'm still the head of my almost non-existent clan save a few who ran off… Become Shinigami-sama's koin, kill off the bastards that are part of my family that are abusing their position, and raising a better generation of Tenma. Something like that I guess."

"Koin?... What's that?"

"Why would… why would you want to kill your own family members???" Sakura asked, horrified.

"Go look it up yourself. I'm sure with that big forehead of yours, it won't be a problem. And because they're all corrupted annoyances." She glared.

"Ok lastly, the girl in pink."

"My name is Haruno Sakura. The thing I like is…Well the person I line is…" She giggled and glanced at Sasuke. And uh… My dream for the future?..." She paused, letting a not so faint blush creep across her face. "KYAA!!!" I sweat dropped at her. Most likely her dream was 'I wanna rape Uchiha Sasuke and have his emo babies!!!' or something like that.

"And your dislike?..." Kakashi-sensei asked carefully.

"Naruto." He started crying. "My hobby is…" She trailed off, staring at Sasuke.

'That's gross Haruno…' I thought to myself.

"Ok! So far for the introductions. Tomorrow we'll start our first mission." Naruto jumped up.

"Yeah!!! What kind of mission?!?"

"First we are going to do something with just the five of us."

"What is it?" I tried not to let my excitement show.

"Survival training." Naruto and I glanced at each other.

"Survival training?..." He echoed.

"Why is our first mission a training exercise?"

"We've had enough of it at the Academy." Naruto nodded his head in agreement.

"This isn't a normal training exercise. This time… I'm your opponent." He started laughing.

"Ahh?..."

"What's so funny sensei?..."

"Well, it's just that… When I tell you, you all are going to freak out." My eye twitched from waiting.

"Will you just tell us already?!?"

"Out of the 28 graduates, only nine or ten, depending, will be chosen as Genin. The rest will be sent back to the Academy. This training exercise is very difficult with a failure rate of over 66%!" Naruto's face was frozen in shock and terror.

"Wh… what the hell…" I ran a hand through my bangs and glared at Kakashi-sensei.

"HAHAHA!!! I told you you'd freak out!" While he was laughing, I was still busy glaring his face off.

"NO WAY!!! But we worked so hard! What was the point of graduating?!?" Naruto was screaming.

"Oh that? That aws just to see who was eligible to become a Genin. Anyway, tomorrow you have to show your real skills on the training ground. Bring all the shinobi tools you have. Oh, and skip breakfast. You might throw up." Kakashi-sensei hopped off the railing and took out some papers. Handing one to each of us, "The details are on this paper. And don't be late. " Sakura screeched.

"Might throw up?!? Is it that hard???" I stood up and nodded to Naruto. Jumping off the roof, I ignored Sakura shouting that I'm gonna die.

"Arashi, that's too high!!!" I landed crouched on my toes and stood up, hands on my hips and stared at her.

"What!" Before going home, I caught Sasuke looking at me. Not with his normally cold eyes either. I shrugged it off, telling myself he suffered from mood swings.


	4. Chapter 03

**(UCHIHA) .:[Until Death Do Us Part]:. (Sasuke) -03**

I got to the training grounds at ten to four, my kunai pouch packed full and my shuriken holster with shuriken poking out. He did say bring all the weapons you have… I sat on a tree branch, slicing it up. I'm not a morning person at all. Sakura and Sasuke were the next to come close to five.

"Eh?... Arashi how long have you been here?..." She asked sleepily.

"An hour. Probably." The twig that was left of the branch fell on the pile of shreds. "Couldn't sleep. Kept wanting to slice something up cause Kakashi-sensei told us to meet here so early." I looked down to her, finding her asleep. I shook my head and waved at Naruto who just walked over. He passed out as soon as he got close to our circle. I sweat dropped and dropped down, sitting down between Naruto and Sasuke. "Hey Sasuke!" He opened an eye and stared at me before closing his eye and turning his head away. Grumbling, I crossed my arms and kicked his legs out from under him. He fell on his ass, eyes wide open and glaring at me. I grinned and waved.

"What." I clicked my tongue at him.

"What a temper you have. You should really try to lighten up, ya know?" He huffed, blowing a piece of hair out of his face. I had to admit though. Like my other classmates, he was pretty cute.

"Like you should talk. You have a horrible temper."

"I know that already!" I made to punch him in the arm but he caught my fist. I stared at him wide-eyes and he smirked.

"Did you really think you would hit me?" Shaking my fist from his hand, I crossed my arms and puffed my cheeks out.

'GEEZ!!! What a conceited person! Augh!'

[][][]

What surprised me while I shut up was that he didn't move away or stand up after that. We just sat there next to each other, staring at the surrounding trees, silent. I wanted to talk to him more though. Growing up, I spent the days after school at his house. Sometimes his mother, who he looks a lot like, would let me stay over for dinner. I got nervous though. Around his dad, that is. He was so serious! And that scowl never went away from his face. Displeased eyes looking over everything that wasn't the best. His mom treated me like her own, packing lunches for me and fixing my hair when I was really little. Maybe it's because I looked like an Uchiha as far as hair and skin tone. Whatever the reason, I didn't mind. I only complained when she tied my hair up in long ribbon, the bows swaying with my hair. But after they were… after they were murdered, I cried. Because I grew up right next to Sasuke. And she was gone. His mother, not mine, was gone and no one would be there for me anymore. After the incident, Sasuke and I eventually grew apart from each other. I'd be lucky enough to draw out a little nod from him if he was in an especially good mood.

[][][]

Sometime while we were waiting, I fell asleep. I heard some people talking but couldn't make out the words. Well, not until I heard Sakura screech.

"ARASHI GET OFF OF SASUKE-KUN!!!" I opened my eyes and saw her standing over me, hands on her hips.

"What the hell…" I rubbed my eyes and sat up, looking to the left of me and saw Sasuke sitting there, blank expression as usual. "Oh." Shrugging, I walked past Sakura to stand by Naruto. "It's not a big deal, geez." And then I saw Kakashi-sensei here. I blinked and pointed at him. "Oi!!! You're late!!!" He sweat dropped and set an alarm clock on a log.

"Ok, it's set for noon." Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura and I exchanged confused glances as Kakashi-sensei pulled out two bells and held it in front of him. "Here are two bells. Your mission is to take these from me before time's up. Those who don't have a bell by noon get's no lunch. I'll also not only tie you to those stumps, but I'll eat in front of you." My eye started twitching, realizing why he told us not to eat. "You only have to get one bell. There are only two so at least two of you will definitely be tied to the stump. And… the two who don't take a bell fails. So two of you, at least, will be sent back to the Academy." I gulped and glanced at my teammates.

'Shit. Sasuke is probably gonna get a bell. Sakura just wants to pass so she can be with him, doubt she could do it though. Naruto… Naruto is definitely going to try his hardest to get one. God dammit! Sorry Naruto but I'm gonna have to beat you to getting a bell.'

If you want, you can use shuriken and kunais. You won't succeed if you don't come at me without a killing intent." While he was talking, Kakashi-sensei tied the bells to his waist.

"But that's dangerous!!!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Oi, Haruno! He's a Jounin, remember? How much damage can a bunch of Genin do against him?" I shoved my hands in my jacket pocket where I kept my special kunai.

"Yeah right! He couldn't even dodge a chalkboard eraser! We'll definitely kill you! Dattebayo!" Naruto started chuckling.

"In the real world… those with no talent often bark the loudest. Well, we'll ignore Mr. Deadlast and start when I say-" He was cut off by Naruto who had gotten out a kunai and made to stab Kakashi-sensei with it. In a flash, faster than I could see, Kakashi-sensei held onto Naruto's wrist and the other on his head, pushing Naruto's kunai against his own neck. "Calm down… I haven't even said start yet." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sasuke smirk. We were all in a defensive position, ready to jump away when he said so. "Well, it seems you're finally prepared to come at me with the intent to kill. So you've finally acknowledged me?" He paused to let out a short chuckle. "It seems like I'm beginning to like you guys. Ok, let's get going. Ready…" I tensed up. "Begin!" Jumping away from where Kakashi-sensei was, I decided to go for a tree with high branches. That way I could scout him out if need be.

"The most important thing for a shinobi is to be able to hide yourself." His one visible eye shifted to look around the area.

"Come here and fight me!!!" Naruto stood in the middle of the clearing proudly, arms crossed and yelling like a fool. "I said fight me!!! Dattebayo!"

"Um… You're a bit weird…" I almost laughed at sensei's comment.

"The only thing that's weird is your haircut!!!" He launched himself at Kakashi-sensei then skidded to a stop in front of him when he reached into his back pocket.

"Shinobi lesson #1. Taijutsu. I'll teach you about it."

"Ahh?..." Realizing I made a noise, I cursed under my breath and hoped he hadn't heard me. Instead of pulling out a weapon, he had a book out and open.

"What's wrong? Go ahead and attack me."

"But… What's with the book?!?"

"I want to know what happens next, of course." I sweat dropped at him. "But don't worry. It won't make a difference against you guys."

'Naruto won't like it if you underestimate him…'

"I'll totally kick your ass!!!" Naruto shouted before jumping at him again. All of his punches and kicks were blocked by a hand or jumping. All the while, he had his face in his book. And then while sensei was crouched, Naruto made to punch him and sensei disappeared, reappearing behind him with the tiger seal. "huh?..."

"A shinobi isn't supposed to be caught from behind, idiot."

"Naruto run away!!! You're gonna be killed!!!" I was surprised that the warning came from Sakura. But of course, it gave away her position as well…

"What?!?"

"Too late." When Naruto turned around, sensei's eyes were gleaming. "Sennen Goroshi (A Thousand Years of Pain)!!!" I expected to see Naruto's flaming carcass on the ground but instead, Kakashi-sensei stuck his fingers up his ass, sending Naruto flying. Hearing him splash in the water, I activated my level one Zetsumeigan and held six of my special kunai in my hands, between my fingers. I jumped down from the tree and threw them at each other, the pouches attached to them burst open, a bunch of little explosive tags raining down on sensei.

"Sakura Fubuki no Jutsu (Cherry Blossom Snow Storm Technique)!" Kakashi-sensei raised his only visible eyebrow and I smirked, getting out another kunai with an active explosive tag attached. Throwing it, it ignited all of the smaller ones. I couldn't waste a second so finding his body, via Zetsumeigan, I made a fist and launched myself in the smoke cloud. "Sento Tokkan (Lightning Punch)!" He pushed my fist aside and I cursed. Then noticing the bells shining, thanks to the smoke clearing out, I tried kicking his legs out but he jumped and the bells were an arms reach away and I swear I touched them! But he jumped back, realizing what I was doing. "Shit!" Not wanting to stop yet, I tossed some kunai in front of me and hurried to make the handseals. I held my hands out. "Reppushou (Gale Wind Palm)!" The shuriken caught on the wind and went deadly fast. I saw his eyes twitch before jumping up and avoiding them. I cursed and jumped back into a new tree, gripping the tree limb.

Some shuriken flew up out of the water and went for Kakashi-sensei. He was laughing at something in his book when he caught them by the holes with his fingers. Naruto stumbled out of the water onto the shore.

"Hey, what's wrong? If you don't get a bell by noon, you won't get lunch."

"I know, I know!!!"

"You sure are weak for someone who's going to surpass the Hokage." I blinked. Maybe he believes Naruto can make it too…

"Dammit! I can still fight on an empty stomach!!!" My eye twitched hearing my own stomach grumble. "I was just a little careless, that's all!!"

"Carelessness can be your worst enemy, you know?" Kakashi-sensei started walking back to the clearing when six or so Naruto's jumped out of the water. "Hm?" He turned his head a little. I stared.

"Hah! My new jutsu! Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!!! You better not get careless now that there are more of me!" Checking with my Zetsumeigan, the clones were real. Since when did Naruto make clones!

"Not just Bunshins, but Kage Bunshins. A skill that multiplies your body and not just an illusion. You probably can only hold this for a minute. No matter how many you line up, you're still Naruto and you can't beat me with that jutsu." He didn't notice the few sneaking up on him. He sure got a shocker when they jumped on him. "What?!? Behind me?!" All the Naruto's were grinning.

"Weren't shinobi not supposed to get caught from behind? Right, Kakashi-sensei?" The real Naruto jumped down. "I sent a clone out into the water to sneak behind you! My ass still hurts, here payback!" As soon as he went to punch him, his fist connected with another clone. I sighed and slapped a hand to my forehead, dragging it down my face. The clone that got punched fell down with the one holding him. As soon as they started bickering, I sat back on the limb and sighed.

Sooner or later, he stopped beating himself up. He perked up when he saw something on the floor.

"A bell! He must've dropped it when he escaped- AHH!?!?" When he reached for it, his leg was caught my a rope. "What the hell?!?" He bounced around on the rope for a while. Then Kakashi-sensei came out of hiding and picked up the bell.

"Think before using a jutsu. It could be used against you. And also." He tossed the bell up and down in his hand. "Don't fall for such an obvious trap, idiot. A shinobi must be able to see what's underneath the underneath."

"I know that!!!" Naruto waved his arms around.

"I'm telling you that because you don't know that…" Just then, a bunch of shuriken launched themselves out of another tree and struck sensei full on, blood spurting out.

"AHHH!!!! Sasuke you went overboard this time!!!" Naruto was freaking out before the dying sensei turned into a log. I looked around to see if Kakashi-sensei was still in the area. He wasn't but I saw familiar traces of chakra heading away from the clearing.

I was running around in circles when I heard a scream.

'Must've been Sakura. Don't have time for that right now, sorry. I gotta find Kakashi-sensei and get a bell dammit! Well since Sakura was just put down, he should be around here somewhere…' I found Kakashi-sensei already fighting with Sasuke and hid in a bush to keep them from noticing me. He got pulled under the dirt and I smirked, my time again. Can't get too close or he'll run. Tossing up a few shuriken again, I did the Reppushou again. All the shuriken went straight through his body and I jumped out, ready to check if he was dead. As soon as I got to him though, he poofed into a log. I cursed and kicked it, ignoring the pain but cursing again. I sighed and looked at Sasuke.

"Need help?" He huffed and turned away.

"No." Narrowing my eyes at him, I shrugged and started walking away. I heard Sakura scream again and ran to her voice, hoping Kakashi-sensei was there. He wasn't. And I just came back to see Sasuke's head in the ground and Sakura passed out in front of him.

"You sure you don't need help?"

"…"

"Well?..." I crouched down in front of him, poking his head. "Do you need help now?" He glared me.

"Yea…" I grinned before starting to dig around him with my hands. After a minute or two, I hadn't gotten far.

"This is taking too long!!!" I got up on my knees and put my hands on the ground. "Goukuuhou (Great Air Cannon)!" The area below my hands was now a deep hole. With that, he was able to wiggle out. I held my hands out so he wouldn't fall deeper in the hole. "Oi, Haruno! You can wake up now." I walked over to her and nudged her with my foot. I grabbed his shirt and pulled him in front of her.

"What!"

"Your turn to wake her up." He huffed and squatted next to her.

"Hey." She instantly jumped up and clung to him.

"Sasuke-kun, you're alright!!!" He tried prying her off.

"Get off!" She reluctantly let go and let him stand up. "There's not much time left. I'm going again."

"Eh? Sasuke-kun you're still going after a bell?"

"I already touched it. Next time I'll get one."

"Sasuke-kun, you're incredible!" I pouted.

"Don't act like you're the only one that did."

"EH??? Arashi, you almost got one too?!?" She thought for a moment. "You know, there isn't much time left so there's no need to push ourselves that hard… There's always next time…" I glared at her. Apparently she didn't listen to what I said to her when we were first put on team 7.

"Do you really think I'm gonna sit around on my ass for another year to become a Genin?!?" Sasuke glared at Sakura before turning his head away.

"There's a man… that only I can kill…"

"Ah… Who do you mean?..." Ignorant as ever, huh. I ran off, already knowing the story to go find Kakashi-sensei. I found him lecturing Naruto so I took the time to just straight up tackle him.

"I'm not gonna fail here!!!" He raised an eyebrow at me and stood there, the bells waiting for me to take them. I caught one in my fingers a second after the alarm went off. Kakashi-sensei shook his head and pointed to where Naruto was, signaling me to sit down. I was pissed and Naruto could see that enough so he didn't say anything. A while later, Sasuke and Sakura came out and sat on wither side of Naruto and I. Kakashi-sensei set down three bento boxes in front of us, not including Naruto.

"You guys look really hungry… Oh and by the way, something about the training. Well, there's no need for any of you guys to go back to the Academy." I blinked.

"You're… kidding…"

"Yeah!!!" Naruto was struggling against the rope, cheering. "Then all four of us!!!"

"Yup. All four of you…" He paused, making me gulp. "Should quit as shinobi!" I stared at him, my hand went limp.

"Quit as ninjas?!? What does that mean!!!" I could hear my heartbeat by now. Louder than when I had the adrenaline rush of fighting Kakashi-sensei. "Ok, ok! We didn't get the bells, but why should we quit?!?"

"Because all of you… are just punks who don't deserve to be ninjas." It seemed to tick Sasuke off enough that he ran at sensei, only to get sat on. "That's why you're a punk."

"AhH!!! Noooo, don't step on Sasuke-kun!!!"

"Are you guys underestimating ninjas? Huh? Why do you think you were divided into teams and are doing this training?"

"Huh? What does that mean?" Sakura voiced for all of us.

"Basically, you guys don't understand the answer to this test."

"Answer?..." Naruto echoed.

"Yes. The answer that helps you pass this test."

"So… When are you going to tell us?..." He sighed.

"It's Teamwork." He pulled out the bells and held them out. "the four of you together may have gotten the bells."

"What do you mean by teamwork?!? There's only two bells! Even if we worked together, two of us would fail!" Realization slapped me in the face.

"The mission…" They turned to me. "The mission is the most important thing. So even if two of us were to fail, we'd still have to complete the mission."

"She's right. The purpose of this test was to pit you four against each other to see if you would forget about your own interests and successfully work together under these designed circumstances. Yet you guys…"

'Here it comes…'

"Sakura. Instead of Naruto, who was right in front of you, you were only thinking of Sasuke who was far away." She looked down. "Naruto! You were just running around by yourself. Arashi." I looked up, clenching my fists. "You ignored your teammates when they needed help to go get a bell for yourself. Sasuke!" He pushed his head down into the dirt a little farther. "You just assumed that the others would get in your way and tried to do everything by yourself when Arashi had touched a bell." I saw Sasuke look at me. "The missions are done by the team. Of course superior individual ability is important to a ninja. But what's even more important is teamwork. Individual play that interrupts the team can put your comrades in danger and even get you killed. For example…"

He got out a kunai and held it to Sasuke's neck. "Sakura! Kill Naruto or Sasuke dies." I snapped my head to her, glaring hard. She saw my eyes and hopefully she remembered that I told her that I'd kick her ass if she hurt him. Slowly, Kakashi-sensei got off Sasuke. "You see? If a hostage is taken, you will have a tough decision and someone may die. You will be risking your lives on these missions." Sensei walked up to the memorial stone.

"Look at this. The numerous names carved onto this stone. These are ninjas who are recognized as heroes of the village."

"HEY!!!" We all looked at Naruto. "I've decided to get my name carved on that stone too!!! HERO!!! That's what I'll become! Dattebayo!!!"

"They are all heroes that have died while on duty." Naruto's smile faltered. "This is a memorial. My best friend's name is carved onto here." He ran his hand over the stone carefully. "You guys… I'll give you one more chance. But after lunch, I'll make it even tougher to get the bells. Those who still with to challenge can have a lunch. But don't give any to Naruto. It's punishment for trying to eat by yourself. If anyone gives him food, they will fail immediately. My word is law! Got it?" He disappeared, leaving us there.

I opened my bento and shoved a bunch of rice in my mouth to replenish the chakra I used up. Then I heard Naruto's stomach growl pretty loudly.

"Ahahaha… I'm alright!"

"Here, Naruto-kun." I held my bento out to him.

"Eh?!? But Arashi-chan, you'll fail!" I shrugged.

"I only needed a little bit to replenish the chakra I used." Sasuke held his out as well.

"Sasuke-kun, didn't you hear what he said?!?"

"Don't worry, I don't sense him near here. After lunch we'll work together to get the bells. He'll only be in our way if he doesn't eat." I smiled at Sasuke who looked at me with an eyebrow raised. Sakura held hers out as well.

"Come on, Naruto. I know you're hungry!" Sakura was holding out some rice on her chopsticks for him.

"Hehe… Thanks you guys!" I grinned at him.

There was a swirl of dust and what looked to be an oncoming storm.

"WHAT'S THIS?!?" Kakashi-sensei's head popped out from the cloud. "YOU GUYS!!!" Sakura screamed. I got up and stood in front of Naruto in a defensive stance. Next to me, I saw Sasuke stand up as well. "Pass." As soon as he said that, the storm went away and he looked like he was smiling under his mask.

"Ahh?..." My arms fell to my sides, head tilted in confusion.

"Pass? But why?" We all sat down again.

"You guys are the first. Everyone else would just do as I told them. They were all just morons. A ninja must see underneath the underneath. Those who break the rules of this world are called trash. But you know what? Those who don't take care of their teammates are lower than trash." I glanced at Naruto who was looking at Kakashi-sensei as if that was his new idol. "That ends the training. All of you pass!" He said it while giving a thumbs up. "Ok! Starting tomorrow, team 7 will begin their missions!" We all started cheering, except for Sasuke, that block of boring ice… "Let's go." I followed Kakashi-sensei, standing on the other side of Sasuke to keep away from Sakura.

"Hey, are we forgetting something?..." I asked unsurely. Sasuke turned to me. Meeting his gaze, I felt my face heat up and turned my head away from him.

'Ahh… What the hell was that…'

"D-Doubt it was important." I shrugged and walked on, happy that I'm a ninja now.


	5. Chapter 04

**(UCHIHA) .:[Until Death Do Us Part]:. (SASUKE) – 04**

I leaned on the tree, trying not to let our target see me. From where I was, I could barely see Sasuke's blue shirt and spiky hair. Unlike Sakura's bright pink hair and dress a couple meters to the left of me. Naruto's position was farther in front of me, our target surrounded.

"What's the distance to the target?" I heard Kakashi-sensei say, static coming through right after.

"Five meters. I'm ready at anytime."

"So am I." Sakura spoke excitedly, undoubtedly she tried to say it right after Sasuke.

"Me too! Dattebayo!!!"

"Naruto-kun, you're too loud! I'm ready." I scolded him in a hushed voice.

"Go!" As soon as Kakashi-sensei spoke, we jumped out. The other three were behind it and it ran to me. Naruto jumped on it and picked it up, while the cat scratched and clawed at his face.

"AHH!!!" Pulling the headset off, I smacked Naruto.

"Ribbon on the left ear. Are you sure it's the target Tora?" I glanced at the cat before answering.

"Yeah, we're sure." I glared at Sasuke, hearing him respond the same time I did.

"Good. Lost Pet Tora search mission complete!" I gave a sigh of relief before walking back to the Hokage's office with everyone else.

[][][]

"Oh, my cute little Tora-chan! I was so worried!!!" The old lady that put in the request was suffocating the poor cat, hugging it and rubbing her big fat face all over it. The cat looked like it was dying. I sighed and shook my head.

"Now… Kakashi's team 7's next mission is… Hmm… Babysitting and elder's grandson, shopping in the neighboring village, and help with the potato digging." My eye started twitching when he began starting.

"No! No! No!!! No thanks!!!" I sighed and looked at Naruto. It's useless to argue with this. As Genin, we're just here to do chores for some lazy old villagers. "I want to do, you know… a more incredible mission!!! Find us a better one!!!" He had his arms crossed in an 'X' shape.

"You idiot! You're just a Genin! Everyone starts off with the simple missions then works their way up!" I blinked. Since when was Iruka-sensei here. Isn't he supposed to be teaching class?...

"But we keep getting the crappiest possible missions!!!" I nodded in agreement then stopped when Kakashi-sensei punched Naruto in the head.

"Be quiet you!"

"Naruto-kun… What's the probability of Hokage-sama giving us a higher ranking mission when we've just become Genin."

"Naruto! It seems I have to explain to you what these missions are all about. Listen, everyday the village receives requests from babysitting to assassination. Each request is written down on these lists and divided into A, B, C, D ranking based on the difficulty. The village is also divided based on skill. Starting with me to the Jou-, Chuu-, and Ge- -nins. The missions are then handed out by us at the top to ninjas based on their abilities. And if the mission is completed successfully, we receive payment from the client. You guys just recently became Genin. D-rank missions are perfect for you. Hey, listen!!!" My head snapped up and I wiped off the drool on my face. Kakashi-sensei was scratching the back of his head.

"I-I apologize…"

"Geez! All you do is give lectured like that! But you know what? I'm not the troublemaking brat you still think I am, dattebayo!" I saw Hokage-sama smile underneath his hat.

"Ok. If you want it that much… I'll give you a C-rank mission. It's the protection of a certain individual." There was silence for a moment before Naruto and I jumped up and cheered.

"Who, who?!? A feudal lord?? A princess?!?" I bit my lip, not wanting to look like a kid in a candy shop.

"Calm down, I'm about to introduce him. You may come in." The first thing we saw coming out of the door was a bottle of sake. I sighed.

"What's this? They're all a bunch of brats. Especially the two short ones… The second shortest with the stupid looking face… Are you really a ninja?..." I crossed my arms and glared at the old man.

"Hey hey! Who's the second shortest one with the stupid face?" Naruto kept looking back and forth between his team mates. Realizing it was him, he made to rush at the guy when Kakashi-sensei held him back. "I'll kill you!!!"

"What's the point in killing the person we're supposed to protect?"

"Like you can talk. You're just a drunk old man." He looked at me with half-lidded eyes.

"I am the expert bridge builder Tazuna. I expect you to provide me super protection until I get back to my country and complete the bridge." I huffed and turned my head.

[][][]

I arrived at the gate with an apple in hand and saw Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke there already, along with Tazuna-san. I tried not to look at Sasuke and waved at them. I heard Tazuna snort and take another swig of sake. Sakura came moments later and grinned, running up to Sasuke and giggling. I rolled my eyes, pulling my backpack straps tighter.

"Let's go!!!" The yelling signaled that Naruto had just arrived. Holding my apple in my teeth, I pulled off one of the backpack straps and got out another apple, tossing it to Naruto before pulling my backpack back on. He grinned at me before biting into it, muffling his excited yells.

"What are you so excited about?" Sakura had her hands on her hips.

"Cause I've never been out of the village before!" He was scouting around, looking at every tree, rock, and animals scampering away from him.

"Hey!" Tazuna pointed at Naruto. "Am I really going to be safe with this brat?"

"Aha… I'm a Jounin so there's no need to worry." Kakashi told Tazuna while Sasuke and I were holding a thrashing Naruto back from hitting the old man.

"Hey old man! Don't mess with ninjas! I'm incredible!!! One day, I'll become Hokage! My name is Uzumaki Naruto, dattebayo!" We let go of Naruto, seeing as he calmed down. Tazuna took another swig of sake, staring Naruto down.

"Hokage is supposed to be the village's number one ninja, right? I doubt someone like you could do it."

"Shut up! I'm prepared to do anything to become Hokage!!! Once I become Hokage, you'll acknowledge me!!!" Tazuna paused, the sake bottle half held up to his mouth.

"No I won't brat. Not even if you did become Hokage." I saw Naruto's eye twitch and grabbed onto his jacket, pulling him back.

"I'll kill you!!!" Kakashi-sensei took him by his backpack and dragged Naruto behind him.

"I said stop. Moron." I sighed and trudged along, eating my apple.

[][][]

"Um… Tazuna-san, you're from the Wave country, right?" It was a while since anyone was talking. Besides Sakura asking Sasuke to take her out on a date, that is.

"What about it?"

"Kakashi-sensei, do they have ninja's in that country too?" I huffed.

"Oi. If they had ninjas in Wave, why would Tazuna-san need to come all the way over to Konoha and hire us." She glared at me, the vein on her enormous forehead bulging. I heard Kakashi-sensei sigh before flicking me on my head.

"No, not in Wave country. But in most other countries, the cultures and customs may be different, but hidden villages do exist, and therefore, so do ninjas." I inwardly groaned, getting ready for a lecture. "To the many countries of the continent, the existence of a Shinobi Village means military power. This is how they hold and maintain advantages over each other. But, it's not that the villages rule the countries, they merely stand equally with the countries government. A small island country like the Wave country doesn't receive much interference from the larger countries and may not need Shinobi village. Within the many Shinobi villages: Leaf, Mist, Cloud, Sand, and Stone, are large and powerful and thus are referred to as the Five Great Shinobi Countries. And these are the only countries whose leader receives the name 'Kage'. The 'Five Kages', Hokage, Mizukage, Raikage, Kazekage, and Tsuchikage, they reign over the thousands of ninjas in the world."

'Ahh?... Is Hokage-sama really that great?... All I ever see him do is sit his ass on his chair…'

"Wow! Hokage-sama is the best!" Sakura exclaimed.

"You guys just doubted Hokage-sama, didn't you?" We all stumbled a little, knowing he was right. "But don't worry! There won't be any combat in a C-rank mission." I tossed my apple to the side of the path, where it landed in a puddle. Not hearing a splash, I gazed intensely at it. It was just sitting on the water, not rippling. Shrugging it off, I kept walking but kept my guard up.

"Then we won't come in contact with foreign ninjas?" Sakura seemed glad.

"Hahaha! Of course not!" Kakashi-sensei pat her on the head. I heard chains behind me and glanced back, only to be shoved aside into the dirt. There were two ninjas connected by a chain and running towards Kakashi-sensei.

"Kakashi-sensei, watch out!!!" I yelled. The other three and Tazuna turned around just in time to see the chains wrapping around sensei and ripping him in two.

"One down." His voice was eerie. I got up and whipped out a kunai.

"Ka-Kakashi-sensei!!!" In a blink of an eye, the two were behind Naruto. I growled.

"Two down." He was frozen to the spot.

"Sento Tokkan!" I punched the one nearest to me, knocking them away from Naruto. Sasuke reacted quickly, jumping up and pinning their chain to the tree before landing on them and kicking their heads, breaking the chain. As if glad to be free, they took off for Sakura and Tazuna who were behind Naruto. I jumped in front of Sakura, a little late to save Naruto from getting cut by one of their claws. "Tatekaze no Jutsu! (Wind Shield Technique)" Around me, a dome of blue-colored wind picked up and swirled the dust around, scratching the two ninja attacking before they flew back a little before picking themselves up and rushing at us again. I probably didn't have enough chakra to do that again, seeing as that last jutsu had chakra embedded in the wind. I braced myself for their attack, kunai held up in front of me before I saw a blur of blue. He had his arms held out, shielding Sakura and I. I felt my hands reach out for his shirt before I yanked them back to me, mentally slapping myself. Then, Kakashi-sensei had them held by their necks. He tied them up to a tree and I glanced at the pile of wood where his bleeding body was.

"Naruto. I'm sorry I didn't save you immediately. I got you injured." I looked at Naruto, only a little cut was on the back of his hand. It was partially my fault. But if I activated the jutsu where he was, the Mist-nin would've been in the dome and it wouldn't have worked. "I didn't think you would freeze like that. Anyway, nice job Sasuke, Arashi." My breathing was a little ragged and he didn't ignore it. He took a pill out of his back pouch and handed it to me. "You must be a little low on chakra, huh." I scoffed and took the pill, swallowing it and crossing my arms.

"Hey." I looked over at Sasuke who was surprisingly talking to Naruto. "You alright?" I blinked. Did he just… "Scardey cat." I sighed and shook my head. Naruto got up and glared at Sasuke.

"Naruto. Save it for later. Their claws were soaked in poison. We have to remove it quickly." I cast a worried glance at Naruto who was gazing angrily at his own hand. "We have to open the would and get the poisoned blood out from your body. Don't move much, the poison will spread faster." Naruto stood there, still looking angry as Kakashi walked by Tazuna, muttering something and going over to Naruto.

"Tazuna-san."

"What is it?" He seemed a bit caught off guard.

"I need to talk to you." For once, Kakashi-sensei's face looked angry. We all walked over to the two ninjas tied up to the tree, glaring at us. "These look to be Hidden Mist Chuunin. These shinobi are known to continue fighting no matter what."

"How did you read our movements…" One of them spoke.

"On a sunny day like this, when it hasn't rained in days, there's not going to be a puddle."

"If you knew that, then why'd you let those brats fight?" Tazuna asked, concerned and surprised.

"If I had wanted to, I could have killed these two instantly but there was something I needed to figure out… That was who were they after. Besides. Sasuke had noticed something strange." I saw Sasuke smirk. "Arashi had known something was up without realizing she knew, so I didn't have to be worried." I felt the corner of my lips twitch into a small smile, proud of myself.

"What do you mean, 'You had to know what they were after'?"

"Meaning… They were after either you or one of us. Our mission was simply to guard you from thieves or gangs. This has now become at lease a B-rank mission. This was supposed to be simple protection until you completed the bridge." Tazuna looked down guiltily. "If it were known that ninjas were after you, this mission would have been set as the more expensive B-rank. I'm sure you had a reason, but it causes problems when you lie about the mission. We are now operating outside of our duty." I gulped. If we continue knowing that higher-ranking ninja's are after Tazuna… our lives are on the line now.

"H-hey… We aren't ready for this kind of mission… Let's quit! We'll need medicine for Naruto's wound. We should go back to the village and get him treatment…" I knew Sakura was right but if Tazuna-san had lied because the completion of the bridge was that important then what. He obviously can't afford to pay for the B-rank mission…

"Hmm…" Kakashi-sensei cast an appraising glance at Naruto. "This may be too much. I guess we should return to the village and treat Naruto." I sighed. I heard someone walking behind me and whipped around with a kunai in hand. It was Sakura. She looked from me to the kunai and I put it away.

"Sorry. Still a little jumpy from the attack, ya know?" She gave a twitchy smile, rubbing her arm.

"I just wanted to say thanks." I raised an eyebrow. "For protecting me earlier." I grinned.

"What the hell, Haruno! We're a team now anyways so I can't let you guys get hurt. Besides…" I sighed. "You should thank Sasuke instead." I walked over to Naruto, about to say something when he stuck his kunai in his hand. "N-Naruto-kun!"

"Naruto, what are you doing!" We were all looking worriedly.

"With this kunai…" He looked up, grinning. "I'll protect the old man. We're continuing the mission!" There was a pause, the tension in the air going away.

"Naruto… It's good you got the poison out quickly but… any more and you'll die from lack of blood 3 seriously." I slapped a hand to my forehead.

"Ah!!! Noo!!! That's bad! I can't die from something like this!!!" He was running in place, trying not to move his hand around.

"Let me see your hand." Kakashi-sensei was kneeling in front of him, staring at the wound.

"Naruto, what were you thinking!" Sakura scolded. Kakashi-sensei got out a roll of bandages and started wrapping his hand with a serious face.

"Hey um…" Naruto was sweating, his eyes wide and scared. "Am I going to be okay?..."

"You should be fine." I sighed and shook my head, closing my eyes. When I opened them, a big bug was flying around in front of my face. I shrieked and started whipping my head around, waving the bug away.

"Oi!" I stopped and stared at the person, wide eyed. It was Sasuke. He was holding one of my pigtails and staring at me with his eyebrows furrowed.

"S-sorry………" He stared at me like I was mental before dropping my hair. I started combing through them with my fingers, eyes shifting around for the bug.

"Sensei…" we looked at Tazuna. "I have to talk to you."

'Heh. No shit, Sherlock. We almost got killed because of you.'

[][][]

"What thick mist… I can't see ahead." Sakura said as if no one else noticed.

"We should see the bridge soon. The Wave country is at the base of the bridge." We were currently in a boat being taken to the village by one of Tazuna's friends.

"Wow, it's huge!!!" I clamped a hand over Naruto's mouth before he said anything else.

"Hey, be quiet! Why do you think we're hiding in the mist and using the engine? We'll be in deep trouble if Gatou finds us." I let go of Naruto. I remembered Tazuna-san telling us that Gatou was behind all of the attacks trying to keep the bridge from being finished.

[][][]

"We'll be there soon. Tazuna, it seems we've avoided detection so far but just in case, we'll take the route that has vegetation. It'll make it harder to spot us." We passed through one of the many tunnels under the village.

"Thanks."

"Whoa…" I stared at the sight. There were many trees, different from the ones back home. The water splashed against the tall roots of the trees that we carefully avoided. We pulled up to the dock and got out.

"This is it for me. Goodbye and good luck."

"Yeah. Thanks a lot." He didn't say it sarcastically. The boatman revved up the engine and rode off. "Ok! Time to get me home safely."

"Hai, hai…"

[][][]

When I saw Naruto grinning mischievously, I walked up to him and nudged him.

"Hey, what're you up to…" He turned to me, frowning.

"I'm tired of Sasuke always in the spotlight! I'm gonna show Sakura-chan I'm better than him!" He answered in a hushed voice. I sighed and rubbed my temples.

"Oi, Naruto-kun… Is that really necessary?... Ah! Naruto-kun?" He wasn't walking next to me anymore. He had jumped to the front and started looking around like he knew what he was doing. This got everyone else alarmed and looking out for the imaginary nothing. Pulling out a shuriken, he threw it in a bush.

"There!!!" It was quiet for what seemed to be forever. My eye was twitching and staring at him trying to look like Sasuke, running a hand through his hair. "Heh. It was just a rat."

"Stop trying to act cool! There was nothing there!!!" Sakura was pointing at him posing.

"Haruno, it's rude to point…"

"Hey… Please stop playing with shuriken… It's seriously dangerous…" Kakashi-sensei was looking at Naruto like he was going to accidentally hurt someone or kill himself.

"Hey midget!! Stop acting like a moron!!" I sighed again, seeing Naruto ignoring us and scouting ahead.

"There!!!" He bent down and threw another shuriken in a bush. Sakura ran up to him and punched him on the head.

"I said stop it!!!"

"Oww… But I felt something there for sure this time…" He whined. I activated my Zetsumeigan and looked around the area. Kakashi-sensei and Sakura parted the bush and there was a white bunny sitting there, shocked to death with the shuriken embedded in the wood between its ears.

"Naruto! Look what you did!" There was an area by the tree and water that gave off a light glow. I started walking towards the water. I was right above it trying to find out why it was giving off signs of chakra. I heard Kakashi-sensei yell.

"Everyone, get down!!!" I shivered, feeling the blade pass behind me, hearing it screech through the air. I stared wide-eyed at the man standing on the giant sword stuck in the tree. "Arashi, get back over here!" Kakashi-sensei looked really worried so I ran over as quickly as I could, glad to get away from the immense killing intent that man was giving off. Sensei pushed me behind him. "Well if it isn't the Hidden Mist's Missing-nin Momochi Zabuza." Naruto made a move to go jump up in the tree but Kakashi-sensei held an arm out in front of Naruto to stop him. "Everybody get back. This one's on a while new level." Sensei raised a hand to his forehead protector and lifted it up. "It will be a little tough unless I do this…"

"Heh. You appear to be Sharingan user Kakashi. Sorry but… the old man is mine."

"Surround and protect Tazuna. Do not enter the fight. That is the teamwork here. Zabuza first… fight me." Naruto was staring at sensei's eye. I wanted to see it myself even though I saw Itachi using it when he trained. Sasuke and I would watch him in awe as he hit the target every single time in the center, wishing we could do that.

"Ah… I already get to see the famous Sharingan. I'm honored."

"Sharingan? What the hell is that?!?" I frowned at Naruto. Aside being his friend, I knew he was a complete idiot.

"Sharingan…" Sasuke started. "It is said that some have the ability in their eyes to read and defeat all types of Gen-, Nin, and Tai- -jutsu. The Sharingan is one of the types of pupil that gives you this power. But that's not the only ability the Sharingan has." Naruto was still clueless.

"Hehe… exactly. That's not all. What's even scarier is that you can copy your opponent's techniques once you see them. When I was a member of Hidden Mist's assassin team, I kept a black book. It held information about you. And this is what it said. The man who has copied over 1,000 jutsus… Hatake Kakashi."

'Eh?... Kakashi-sensei was really this amazing?!?'

"Now… Let's end the talking. I have to kill the old man. But Kakashi… It seems I have to beat you first." Zabuza crouched down on his sword before kicking off the tree and disappearing in the water with his sword. I found him standing on top of the water, one arm straight up and the other in front of his face.

"Over there! On top of the water!!!"

"Kirigakure no Jutsu (Hidden Mist Technique)" The mist seemed to thicken and his chakra seemed to melt into the mist.

"He's gone!"

"Kakashi-sensei, I can't find him… My Zetsumeigan is useless in this mist. There's chakra in it…"

'Geez if that old man would shut up, I might be able to find him…'

"He'll come after me first. Momochi Zabuza… As a member of the Hidden Mist, he was known as an expert in silent killing. You don't even notice until you're already dead. It's not like I can use the Sharingan perfectly. You guys be careful."

"The mist is getting thicker!..." Naruto said.

"Eight choices…" I huffed. "Liver, lungs, spine, clavical vein, jugular, brain, kidney's, heart. Which one should I go after?"

'Wait! Why would he go after Kakashi-sensei if he could just get…' I inched closer towards Tazuna, still standing in front of him with a kunai out. I stopped using the Zetsumeigan after I couldn't see through the mist the first time. I saw Sasuke look like he was scared shitless. He was sweating and shaking. I reached out and grabbed onto his shirt sleeve. I didn't meet his gaze. I was too busy looking for signs of Zabuza. He had jumped when I reached out for him.

"Sasuke… Don't worry. I'll protect you guys with my life." I saw Sasuke's face flush, embarrassed he had gotten flustered. "I won't let my comrades die." He turned to smile at us. In less than a second, I felt the intense killing intent behind me. Barely had any time to react to the blade shoving us all aside. Kakashi-sensei, however, moved quickly enough to shove me out of his way and onto Sasuke who was falling. By the time sensei had plunged a kunai into Zabuza, it was melting into water. I looked up, seeing Zabuza and Kakashi-sensei fighting feet in front of me. When the Mizu Bunshin disappeared, another Zabuza was behind him.

"Sensei, behind you!!!" Sasuke and I clumsily got to our feet, moving away from the two Jounin. Zabuza swung his sword, slicing Kakashi-sensei in two. Sakura started screaming until the two halves of Kakashi-sensei turned into water. Zabuza's eyes were wide open and staring disbelievingly.

"Don't move." Kakashi-sensei had a kunai held to Zabuza's neck, standing behind him. "It's over."

"WOW!!!" Naruto and Sakura were practically on the verge of worshiping Kakashi-sensei now. I gulped.

'So this is Jounin-level?... Whoa…'

"Hehe… 'It's over'? You don't get it." Zabuza was laughing. "There's no way you can defeat me with your monkey-like imitations. But that was impressive of you. At that time… You had already copied my Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu. You had your clone say those words to attract my attention while the real you hid in the mist and watched me. Nice plan but…" My breath hitched when I saw another Zabuza standing behind Kakashi-sensei.

"That's a fake too?!?" They started fighting for a while before Kakashi-sensei dove into the water.

"Foolish." Kakashi-sensei looked like he was struggling to get out of the water. "Heh. Fool. Suirou no Jutsu (Water Prison Technique)" Kakashi-sensei was in a bubble of water.

"WHAT?!?" Kakashi-sensei's worried voice was enough to make me realize the situation we were in.

"You may have been trying to escape to the water, but that was a big mistake. Now I have you in my inescapable prison. It makes it harder if you can move, right? Now Kakashi… we can finish things later. First, I'll take care of them." Another bunshin rose out of the ground. "Wearing forehead protectors and acting like real ninjas. But you know what? A real ninja is one that's survived numerous brushes with death." I held out the kunai in front of me. "Basically… once you're good enough to be listed in my handbook then you guys can start calling yourself ninjas. You guys cannot be called ninjas."

"Then, this is starting off with our first brush with death! After we beat you, then what!" I was surprised at my own voice, leaping out of my throat before I could think of what I was saying. I heard him scoff, then he disappeared. I felt him kick Naruto and I in the stomach, throwing us closer back to out team.

"Heh. Brat. You think you'll live to make it past me?"

"You guys!!! Take Tazuna-san and run away! You have no chance of beating him! As long as he keeps me trapped in this prison, he can't go anywhere!" Zabuza grabbed onto Naruto's jacket. I growled and jumped up, kicking the clone's arm away from him. I didn't even notice my Zetsumeigan activating.

"Don't touch him you bastard!" I stood in front of Naruto who was shaking in fear and started crawling away. I grit my teeth , glaring at him. His eyes widened a bit before chuckling.

"The Zetsumeigan, eh? It's been a while since I've seen this." I blinked.

"How…"

"Arashi, get away!!!" Sakura screamed.

"Your father." I gulped. "I killed him when that pathetic ANBU came after me. His team left him, leaving him as easy prey." I felt the tears welling up in my eyes, something was stuck in my throat. Zabuza leaned down to whisper in my ear. "And now, I'll kill you too."

"URAHHH!!!!" I turned to see Naruto running at Zabuza. Naruto grabbed me by my hood and threw me to Sasuke and Sakura who caught me, holding me up by my arms. Swears were spilling out of my mouth like a waterfall.

"Naruto, what are you thinking?!?"

"He…" Sasuke actually sounded worried. "Arashi, your eyes!" Sakura looked at me too.

"What…" I got up on my own two feet and tightened my pigtails.

"There's a red ring in both of them…" I felt a grin spreading on my face. It was wiped off when Naruto was thrown back. I caught him and skidded back a few inches, holding him. "What are you doing, jumping in all by yourself?!? We Genin have no chance against him!!!" When her face went from angry and concerned to shock, I looked down at him and helped him stand up. He was holding his forehead protector.

"Naruto-kun…"

"Hey you eye browless freak… Put this in your handbook. The man who will some day become Hokage…" Naruto stood up straight and tied his forehead protector back on. "Konoha Ninja… Uzumaki Naruto! Hey Sasuke, lend me your ear."

"What is it?"

"I have a plan." I felt this strange feeling wash over me. Naruto, like this… looked really cool.

"Heh. Teamwork from you?"

"Now… Let's get wild."

'Oh geez… That was corny…'

"A lot of arrogance but do you stand a chance?"

"What are you doing??? Run away! This fight was over the moment I was caught! Our duty is to protect Tazuna-san! Did you forget that?!?" I huffed. Sensei doesn't believe we can do this, but we can! We'll just have to prove it.

"Old man…" Naruto had a worried look on his face when he turned to Tazuna-san.

"Well…" He put his head down, the hat he wore casting a shadow over his face. "I planted this seed myself. I'm not going to now say that I have the desire to live so much that I'd stop you. I'm sorry guys…" He lifted his head up and grinned. "Fight as much as you want."

"Hn. You hear that?" Sasuke stood next to Naruto.

"Are you ready?" The Zabuza clone started laughing.

"You guys are never going to grow up."

"What did you say?!?"

"Going to keep playing ninja, eh? When I… When I was about your age… these hands were already soaked in blood." He held his hands up, eyes glaring down like a madman.

"The Devil Zabuza…"

"So you've heard of it."

"Long ago, in the Hidden Mist, also called the Blood Mist village… there was a final obstacle in becoming a ninja."

"Hn. Even you know about that exam." I doubt this is the right time for a history lesson…

"That exam?..." Naruto echoed. "What about that exam?" Zabuza started chuckling.

"Fights to the death between students." I gulped, my eyes straining to stay fixed on Zabuza. "Friends who have trained and eaten at the same table are pitted against each other and go at it until one of them loses his life. These are friends who have been together and have shared dreams."

"…terrible…" Sakura's voice was barely above a whisper.

"Ten years ago, the Hidden Mist graduation exam was forced to change. This change came after the previous year when a Devil appeared." Kakashi-sensei picked up.

"Change?... What change? What did this Devil do?"

"Without pause or hesitation… a young boy who was not even a ninja… had killed over a hundred of the students."

"That…" Zabuza's eyes were smiling. "Was fun." In a flash, the clone appeared before Sasuke and kicked him into the air, finishing with a punch to his stomach and stepping on him. "Die."

"Sasuke-kun!!!" Sakura's voice was shrill. Naruto made Kage Bunshins and ran at Zabuza while I helped Sasuke get back up. Zabuza, however, with one swipe of his sword, blew all of the Naruto's off of him.

"Tatekaze no Jutsu!" Luckily, the jutsu activated fast enough so that Sasuke and I wouldn't get shopped in half.

"Sasuke!" Naruto reached into his backpack and threw something at Sasuke. He had to leap away to catch it, skidding on the ground and standing up with the windmill shuriken open.

"Kage Shuriken no Jutsu."

"Heh. A shuriken won't work on me." Instead of throwing it at the clone, he threw it at the real Zabuza like a smart person. "I see you're aiming for me but…" He caught the shuriken in his right hand. "That's not enough!" Then the other shuriken came from under it, still spinning. "What? There was another in the shadow?!?"

'Hm. Maybe that's why he said KAGE Shuriken no Jutsu…' The other came flying back. He easily jumped over it.

"That's still not enough." He sounded smug until The shuriken he avoided turned into Naruto with a kunai. He yelled and threw it at Zabuza, aiming for his arm. Zabuza caught it with his left hand and was about to throw it when Kakashi-sensei stopped it with the back of his hand protected by a metal plate on his glove.

"Kakashi-sensei!!!"

"Naruto. Great plan." I grinned. Now we can win this! "You guys have grown up."

"Heh. I got distracted and released the jutsu."

"You arrogant bastard!" Now I can mouth him off cause Kakashi-sensei is there! 3 "You didn't 'release' it. You were forced to release it." Kakashi-sensei and Zabua jumped away, performing the same hand signs.

"Suiryuudan no Jutsu (Water Dragon Projectile Technique)!" Water dragons rose up beside both of them and crashed into each other. A wave of water crashed through the entire forest.

"Daibakufu no Jutsu (Grand Waterfall Technique)!" Kakashi-sensei finished before Zabuza and the wave pushed Zabuza into a tree landing in front of him.

"How?... Can you see the future?" Sensei took aout a kunai before answering.

"Yeah. And I see that you're going to die." Before he threw the kunai, senbon needles came out of the tree and stuck themselves in Zabuza's neck.

"You're right. He's dead." It was a hunter-nin with a mask with a swirly design on his mask. Kakashi-sensei went up to Zabuza's body and felt for a pulse but stood up. "Thank you very much. I have been searching for the opportunity to kill Zabuza for a long time."

"That mask… you're a hunter-nin."

"Impressive. You are correct."

"Hey! If you're a hunter-nin then why couldn't you just have killed Zabuza on your own?" I asked, hands on my hips.

"What the hell?!? Who are you???" Naruto yelled, pointing at the kid.

"Hey you two. He's not an enemy." I didn't look at Kakashi-sensei, I was too busy glaring at the kid in front of us.

"I'm not asking that!!!" Naruto seemed really flustered. "That Zabuza… That Zabuza was killed! And that guy was strong… A guy that strong was killed by that kid! By a kid not much different from me! We look stupid!!!" My eye was twitching and I was about to hit him on the head but he kept going. "How can I understand that?!?"

"Well, I know how you feel but…" Sensei put a hand on Naruto's head, ruffling up his hair. "This is also the truth. In this world, there exist kids younger than you yet stronger than me." Naruto and I sulked for a bit when the leaves swirled around where the boy was before. He landed next to Zabuza's body and picked him up.

"Your battle is now over. And I must dispose of this body since it seems to hold many secrets. Farewell." He used the Shunsin no Jutsu to disappear.

"He's gone!" I sighed and rubbed my head.

"Oi, Naruto-kun, let it go already…" He turned to me, looking distressed before I gave a little smile and he calmed down.

"Ok. Now let's get Tazuna-san back home safely." Kakashi-sensei pulled his forehead protector down back in place.

"Thanks a lot guys! Come over to my house and relax a bit!" I felt something hit me on the back.

"AHHH!!!! WTF SENSEI!!!" I was squashed underneath a passed out Kakashi-sensei. "Oi!!! Guys, get him off!!!!" I started whining, forcing face tears down my face. Naruto and Sakura managed to roll him off and Sasuke helped me up. "Thanks."

"Hn." My eye twitched and I hit him on the head.

"You say 'You're welcome' when someone says thank you!" He rubbed the back of his head and glared at me. "Hmph!" Crossing my arms, I followed Naruto and Sasuke carrying Kakashi-sensei to Tazuna's house.

I sighed. _If we die here, it's all the old man's fault but I shouldn't be blaming him, really. Gatou… He deserves to die. And if I live to go back home, he won't. _


	6. Chapter 05

**(UCHIHA) .:[Until Death Do Us Part]:. (SASUKE) – 05**

Hello again! First off, thanks to DarkEmery and ANBUxItachi for messaging! And thanks to everyone who's rating! Yay! You guys are awesome! Well, here's the next chapter! Enjoy!

Kakashi-sensei was laying down in the middle of the room with everyone sitting around him.

"Are you alright, sensei?" Tazuna's daughter, Tsunami, asked.

"Yeah. I just can't move for a week or two."

"What? The Sharingan is incredible but if it puts that much stress on your body, I guess you have to think before using it." My head kept dropping and my eyes were fighting to stay open. _I'm tired too…_ I whined in my head. I felt myself yawn and covered my mouth with my hand. Everyone glanced at me.

"It seems the Zetsumeigan does the same." I huffed.

"I was only using level one too…" I mumbled to myself. _Damn I'm weak. I'll have to start doing more endurance exercises when we get back home…_

"Well, we defeated a strong ninja this time!" Tazuna said happily. "We should be safe for a while!"

"By the way, who was that kid?" Sakura asked with a hand on her chin.

"That's the mask… Hunter-nin… era…" My head dropped and I was out.

[Dust Speck's POV]

"Oi, Arashi-chan?!?" Naruto yelled, jumping over to his friend. He was going to start shaking her when Sasuke threw a pillow at him.

"She's tired, dobe. Let her rest." Naruto growled at Sasuke for knowing more about his friend than he did. But that wasn't really Sasuke's fault. Naruto was just… dull… Naruto huffed and put the pillow under Arashi's head. Kakashi cleared his throat.

"Like I was saying… A hunter-nin's duty is to completely dispose of the body without a trace. A ninja's body has within it secret's of their village's nin-jutsu, information on different chakra types, herbs, and other things that will reveal things about their village. For example. If I died, the secret's of sharingan would be revealed. If you don't be careful there's the danger that the enemy will steal your jutsu." Sasuke shifted into a more comfortable position, glancing at Arashi who was still asleep. Her hand twitched a little before settling down. "A ninja's body can reveal important information. So, by killing and disposing of the Missing-nins who have abandoned their village, the Hunter-nins protect the information from getting out. They are the specialists who guard their village's secrets." Kakashi closed his eye. "No sound, no smell. That is a ninja's end." Sakura shivered.

"So Zabuza has been chopped up and disposed of?... Scary…" Sasuke wondered how Sakura is so dumb but so smart at the same time. _It would be more likely that the Missing-nins body be burned._ He thought to himself.

[][][]

It had been a while since the little lecture and Kakashi and Zabuzawere asleep. Naruto and Sakura were peering over Kakashi's face about to pull his mask down when his eye opened. They both fell back screaming. Sasuke shook his head. But he secretly wanted to see too.

"You idiot! We were so close to seeing his face!!!" Sakura scolded Naruto.

"Oh! Sensei, you're awake!" Tsunami had just walked into the room. Kakashi was sitting up with a worried expression on his face. Naruto picked up on the odd tension.

"What's wrong, sensei?" Naruto asked.

"Huh? Well…" He took his hand from his head and placed it in his lap. "Hunter-nins usually dispose of the bodies on the spot they've killed them at."

"So what?" Sakura asked.

"Don't you see? How did that masked boy dispose of Zabuza's body?" Sakura shrugged.

"How would we know? That boy took Zabuza's body with him." Kakashi nodded.

"Yeah. If he needed proof of his work, he would've just taken his head. And the weapon he used to kill Zabuza…" Sasuke's eyes widened, realizing what Kakashi was getting at.

"No way…" He breathed out.

"What are you guys talking about?" Tazuna asked, rubbing his head.

"Most likely… Zabuza is still alive." Naruto, Sakura, and Tazuna freaked out.

"What the hell do you mean?!?" Naruto screamed.

"What do you mean Kakashi-sensei?!? You checked and he was dead, wasn't he?!?" Sakura asked. Kakashi nodded.

"Yeah, I did. But that was most likely… A momentary death." By now, Arashi started to stir. "And that weapon that that Hunter-nin used…" Kakashi started, referring to the senbon needles. "Unless it hits a vital organ, it has a low probability of killing your opponent. Senbon needles are used by doctors for acupuncture therapy. Hunter-nins know about the body's structure thoroughly. Putting someone in a momentary death-state is probably easy for them. First, he carried away the much heavier body of Zabuza." Arashi sat up, holding her head, using her other arm to prop herself up.

[Arashi's POV]

"First, he carried away the much heavier body of Zabuza." She blinked and shook her bangs out of her face.

"Couldn't that just mean that the boy is strong?" All eyes went to her. "I was awake through most of it." She explained. Kakashi put a hand up to his chin. "Although, I doubt that, since he didn't carry out his mission correctly."

"Which brings me to my second point. He used a weapon that has a low probability of killing. These two points indicate that his motive was not to kill Zabuza… but to save him. We can't ignore that possibility."

"Aren't you thinking a little too much?" Tazuna asked. "Hunter-nins are supposed to kill Missing-nins." My eye was twitching at Tazuna.

"'Supposed to' are the key words. Just because he was 'supposed to' doesn't mean he did. And it may be just as likely that that 'Hunter-nin' we saw just killed a real one and stole the mask or something." I said, moving closer to the group.

"With all the suspicion, we will prepare before it's too late. That's a shinobi rule. Plus, whether Zabuza is alive or dead, there's no assurances that Gatou might have hired stronger ninja." Naruto was shaking with a grin on his face.

"Sensei, what do you mean by preparing before it's too late? You can barely move." Sakura pointed out. Kakashi-sensei chuckled.

"You guys will receive training."

"Huh? Training? Sensei! What's a little training going to do?!?" Sakura asked, raising her voice. "Our enemy is a ninja you struggled against even with the Sharingan!" _Great Haruno… Thanks for insulting our ability to fight…_

"Sakura. Who saved me while I was in the water prison?" It was a rhetorical question. "You guys are growing rapidly. Especially Naruto!" He said, his eye smiling. "You've improved the most so far." Kakashi-sensei praised Naruto, causing him to grin.

"But obviously, this is just training. You won't be able to defeat him without me."

"But sensei… If Zabuza can attack us at any time. Do we really have time to be training?" Sakura asked, always being the negative one now.

"About that…" Kakash-sensei started to explain. "A person in momentary death should take a while before hteir body functions properly." Naruto grinned, his fists by his side.

"So we should train until then! Sounds like a lot of fun!"

"That's not fun." Some kid said, walking over to us.

"Oh! Inari! Where were you?" Tazuna said with his arms out wide.

"Welcome back, grandpa." His voice was so… Sasuke-ish, it kind of ticked me off.

"Inari, say hello to these people." Tsunami said. Inari went over to hug Tazuna and glared at us. "They're the ones who protected grandpa."

"Mom, they're gonna die." Naruto and I jumped up.

"What the hell?!?" I yelled.

"What did you say, you little brat???" Inari lowered his head.

"There's no way you can beat Gatou." Naruto tried running over to him to hit him but Sakura held him back by his collar.

"You brat…!!!"

"You idiot! What are you doing getting pissed off at a child for?!?"

"Hey, Inari!" Naruto stopped struggling and pointed at him. "I am a super hero who will one day become an incredible ninja called Hokage! I don't know this Gatou guy, but he's nothing against me!" Inari scoffed.

"What are you, stupid? There's no such thing as a hero." He said and walked out of the room. I crossed my arms and stared after him. "If you don't want to die, I suggest you leave."

"Where are you going Inari?" Tazuna asked.

"To look at the ocean from my room." Tazuna sighed and I sat back down.

"Sorry…" Naruto walked out of the room. If I guessed correctly, he'd try talking to Inari. Just like Konohamaru. Naruto is turning out to be a great babysitter, eh?

"Kakashi, when do we start training?"

"We'll wait until Naruto gets back." I sighed and leaned my back against the wall. Sasuke looked the same as ever, a stupid block of ice that doesn't do anything but sit there and look cool. Haha, lol. No pun intended, I assure you.

[][][]

"We will now start the training." Kakashi announced. We were standing a little clearing in the nearby forest.

"Hell yeah!!!" Naruto yelled, getting pumped up.

"Ok, but before that, I want you to talk about chakra." I looked at Naruto who had a blank face.

"Um… What's that?..." Sakura hit him on the head.

"You're a ninja and you don't know?!? What did you learn in school???" Sakura scolded.

"Hehe… I used to sleep during the hard classes…" He scratched the back of his head. Then he turned to me, pointing. I pointed to myself as well. "Ah! I bet Arashi doesn't know either! She was asleep too!!!" I pursed my lips.

"Simply put, Chakra is the energy needed by a shinobi when performing a Jutsu. That energy has two parts. The body energy that is in each of the billions of your cells. And the spiritual energy gained through training and other experiences. So by bringing out and releasing chakra, you can use a jutsu. This is done through performing a seal with your hands." Naruto's head was cocked to the side. My arms were crossed. "Even if I slept, I studied." Kakashi pat me on the head. "I'm not some sort of per encyclopedia, ya know…"

"Hey, hey! I didn't understand that sort of complicated explanation but isn't that something you learn with your body?" Naruto asked.

"Naruto is right. We can already learn jutsus." I nodded my head.

"Nope! You guys aren't using Chakra properly." Kakashi said.

"What?!?"

"Well, listen… As Arashi said earlier, to release Chakra means to bring out the physical and spiritual energy and mix them together within your bodies. And based on what sort of jutsu you use, the type and amount of Chakra released will be different." He said, referring to the fire, wind, water, lightning, and earth type chakra. "You guys are not using chakra effectively yet. Even if you are able to release a high amount of chakra, unless you control it properly, the jutsu will be weakened or not work at all. And by wasting energy, you wont be able to fight as long. These kinds of weaknesses will appear." _Eh? What about kekkai-genkai then? Just activating it uses quite a bit of chakra right? Ugh, I'll ask him later. Even though I already made sure I use minimal chakra when using the Zetsumeigan. Ah, who knows. Kakasih-sensei has used his Sharingan longer than I've used my Zetsumeigan so maybe he knows how to reduce the amount of chakra wasted even more?_

"So… so what should we do?..." Naruto asked.

"Learn how to control it." He stated simply. "Through very tough training."

"What are we going to do?..." Sakura asked.

"Tree climbing."

"Tree climbing?!?" Naruto asked. My shoulders fell. _What the hell… Isn't this supposed to be tough training?!?_

"What kind of training is that…" Sakura asked with her arms crossed.

"Well, listen to the end. This isn't normal tree climbing. You'll climb without using your hands." Sakura looked at him doubtingly.

"How…"

"Well, watch." Kakashi-sensei said. He walked up in front of a tree and put one foot up on it, then the other, still using the crutches. All four of us watched him with surprised expressions. My hand brushed Sasuke's when we all huddled together. He turned to look at me and I pulled my hand back, a slight tinge of pink on my cheeks. "You understand now?" By now, Kakashi-sensei was hanging –er… standing upside down on a branch. "Gather the chakra in the bottom of your feet and climb up a tree. This is something you can do once you can use chakra well."

"Wait a minute!!!" Sakura yelled. "How is this supposed to make us stronger?!?"

"Here's the main part. Listen closely. The purpose of this training is; first, to teach you how to control chakra. To bring out the proper amount to the proper area. As I said earlier, this is the most important aspect when using a jutsu. This can be difficult for even a skilled ninja." I scoffed. _Kakashi-sensei is a skilled ninja climbing up the tree AND he has crutches._ The amount of Chakra needed to climb a tree is small, but it must be exact. And it is said that the bottom of the foot is the most difficult area to gather chakra. So basically… if you can learn this control, you should be able to master any jutsu." He explained. "Theoretically…" He added. I glanced over at Naruto who was shaking with excitement, most likely unable to wait much longer to try it out. "The second thing is for you to develop he stamina needed to control Chakra properly. Depending on the jutsu, controlling your chakra properly can be very difficult. And a ninja will usually be gathering his chakra during battle while constantly moving. Those types of situations can make chakra gathering even more difficult. That's why, from this tree climbing, you must gain the stamina needed for this proper control. Well… me talking all day isn't going to accomplish anything." He took out four kunai and threw them to land in front of us. "This is something you'll have to learn with your own bodies. Use those kunai to mark how high you make it up the tree. Then use the mark as your goal to surpass it. You guys wont be good enough to just walk up the tree at first. So get some momentum and try running up the tree first, okay?" Naruto took the kunai in front of him, as did everyone else.

"This training is nothing to me!!! I could do it before breakfast dattebayo!!" He pointed at Kakashi-sensei. "Cause I've improved the most!!!" I sighed and slapped a hand on my forehead.

"Kakashi-sensei!!! You're putting weird things into Naruto's head, aren't you?!?"

"Why don't you stop the bragging. Pick a tree and hurry up to try to climb it." Kakashi-sensei took his time getting back down. Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke made the handseal and started to gather the chakra to their feet. At the same time, they ran up a tree. I walked closer to the tree's they were running up and sat down, legs crossed. Naruto fell first but managed to mark his spot. Sasuke was next to go, which was quite surprising, and marked his spot too. Sasuke flipped off the tree and landed on his feet but Naruto was sprawled on the ground, holding his head. I got up and saw the difference in their places where they fell. Naruto's didn't have a mark at all but Sasuke's had his footprint on the tree. I stretched and activated the Zetsumeigan. There were still some traces of their chakra on the wood. It seems that Sasuke had put in too much and Naruto didn't put enough.

"Aren't you going to try?" I looked over my shoulder to see Kakashi-sensei.

"Hey, this is pretty easy!" Sakura said before I could answer. She was sitting up on a high branch.

"Sakura-chan!!!"  
"Looks like the best one at chakra control right now is Sakura!" Kakashi-sensei announced.

"Wow!!! Sakura-chan, you're great!!!" Naruto praised. I looked at the tree that Sakura ran up and her chakra was consistent to the top. _Great job, guys. You just made this a hell of a lot easier for me. _I deactivated the Zetsumeigan.

"Sakura is closest to Hokage. Unlike a certain someone…" Naruto twitched. "It seems that the Uchiha clan isn't worth much either." Sasuke's head snapped up and glared at Kakashi. "And it seems our little demon was too afraid to try." He said, ruffling up my hair. I swatted his hand away.

"I was observing them. And I am not afraid." I said, scouting out a taller tree than the one Sakura ran up. The one next to hers was slightly taller so I walked up in front of that one. Gathering the chakra in the bottom of my feet, I started to run up the tree, making sure to keep the level of chakra the same. Seeing the tip of the tree, I threw my kunai at it which was attached to a wire, just in case the branch I was aiming to land on broke. I jumped off the trunk and landed on the branch.

"Oh ho? Now it seems that the girls are better than the boys at this." Kakashi-said. I heard wood snap and felt myself start to drop. Wrapping the wire around my hand, I was hanging a couple hundred feet from the ground. The wire was digging into my gloves and I could feel it cutting off my blood flow.

"Shit…!" I cursed under my breath.

"Arashi-chan!!!" Naruto screamed.

"Oi, oi! I'm alright, okay? I'm not dead yet Naruto-kun!" Looking down from where I was, there was another branch below me. I sighed. This is taking a risk… Pulling out a kunai with my left hand, I aimed for the one connected to the wire. _If I could just knock that one out of place, I should be able to land onto that branch if I'm lucky… _

"What are you doing?!? You know kunai can't cut through wires!!!" I ignored Sakura and threw the kunai in my left hand and it hit its target. I started dropping again and pulled my hand out from the wire wrapped around it. I missed landing on the branch, but I managed to grab onto it and pull myself up. From here, I noticed, I wouldn't die from a fall at this height.

"Naruto, catch!" He looked around like an idiot and by the time I had jumped, he still didn't notice. I saw Sasuke run over and I fell on top of him. "Ow…" Naruto pointed at me and ran over.

"Are you okay? –ttebayo…" I nodded and took his hand, standing up. I turned around and Sasuke was up and brushing the dirt off his shorts.

"Thanks." He looked at me and nodded.

[][][]

Kakashi-sensei was standing a few yards away from us, watching. We'd been running up the trees and were nothing short of exhausted. Naruto was rubbing his head after falling once again and was staring up at his tree. His marks were close together, barely a few feet above his own head. Sakura was lying under her tree, resting on the roots. Naruto cursed and walked over to Sakura and crouched down. I heard him ask for help. I sighed and sat cross-legged next to my tree.

After a while, Kakshi-sensei walked closer to us. "Sakura, Arashi." We all turned to him. "You guys can go tag along with Tazuna-san. Good job on the tree climbing." I shook my head and waved a hand at him.

"I'm sure Sakura will be fine alone and I don't really feel like walking around…" I said.

"Okay. Sakura?" She scrambled up and walked back to Tazuna's house. After that, Kakashi went back to his previous spot.

[][][]

[The Dust Speck Returns!]

Arashi fell asleep leaning against her tree. She was holding a locket in her hand which was resting on her lap.

"Naruto." Sasuke said, interrupting the blonde boys concentration. Naruto tripped and fell on his face.

"What the hell is your problem?!? Can't you see I'm trying to focus?!?" He sat down, sulking.

"Well, um..." Sasuke looked away. "Wha… What did Sakura tell you?..." Naruto's face went blank before a mischievous grin took over his face.

"It's a secret!" Sasuke looked at him disbelievingly and an awkward silence fell over the forest. Kakashi was watching and was trying to suppress a giggle. At the same time, Naruto stood up and Sasuke huffed, turning around. His eyes fell on the sleeping girl and his eyebrow twitched. Naruto started running up the tree again and he sighed, walking over to Arashi. Crouching down, he put a hand on her shoulder. In what seemed to be an unconscious state, she took out a kunai with her left hand and swung it back, Sasuke's neck between the tree and her arm. The kunai stuck in the bark and in her right hand was another kunai pointing at his neck. He grunted and pushed her right hand away from him. "Hey, Arashi, wake up." Her eyes started to open and she stifled a yawn.

"Oi, Sasuke. What the hell are you doing interrupting my nap…" She said. Then she noticed her kunai in the tree and let go of it, letting out a nervous laugh. "Haha… my bad…" Sasuke shook it off as she put her kunai's back into their pouch.

"Well I was gonna ask…" He looked away, pouting. She raised an eyebrow. "Can you… give me some tips on the tree climbing?...." He asked. She grinned and sat up.

"That depends…" His eye twitched.

"On?..." She put a hand on her chin, thinking.

"I dunno. But if I tell you, you owe me a promise." She held out her hand with her pinky finger up. "I'll think of it later."

"Are you serious…" She glared and smacked him on his arm.

"Yes, I'm serious!" He sighed, shaking his head but made the pinky promise anyways. She grinned and laced her fingers together. "Alright then! I won't tell you to block everything out of your mind or else you won't be able to do it in real combat…" She trailed off. "But basically… Once you gather the chakra in your feet, don't change the amount you put in unless your not sticking or if you find yourself sinking in the wood. Too much chakra, the wood breaks." She said, pointing to his footprint on his tree. "Too little and…" She turned her head to look at Naruto who had fallen at just the right time. "That happens…" She said, sweat dropping. Sasuke stood up and nodded.

"Thanks." She smiled and fiddled with her ribbons when he walked away.

[][][]

[Arashi's POV]

"More!" Naruto and Sasuke were racing to finish their food and held their bowls up at the same time. Both of their cheeks puffed out at the same time and they turned away from the table, throwing up. I finished my food and reached a hand up to where my locket was. I didn't feel it there and my eyes widened.

"If you're going to throw up, don't eat any more food!" Sakura yelled at the both of them. Sasuke glared at Naruto.

"No. I must eat." Naruto glared back at him.

"Yeah. We have to no matter what. Because we have to get stronger." I sat in my seat, sulking. It would be too dark to look for it outside right now… I sighed, seeing Kakashi-sensei nod his head after Naruto. Sakura got up and walked up to a picture frame on the wall.

"Hey, why do you have a torn picture on the wall? It looks like someone purposefully removed the person from the picture." I glared at Sakura. _If it looks like they didn't want someone to be there, then why the hell are you asking?!? Moron!_ "Inari-kun was staring at it during dinner." She said, turning to Tazuna and his family. I excused myself before they started talking and went up to my room, staring outside the window. I'll have to wait till the sun rises until I can go outside and look…

[][][]

"Six days… Six days and I still haven't found it! By now some stupid bird probably took it… And why the hell can't I find it if I lost it when we were training?!?" I groaned, kicking a stump of a tree. I sighed then I saw a fat little bird fly past with something dangling in it's feet. Squinting my eyes, I recognized it as my locket. "Hey!!!" I screamed and started running after it. As if it heard me, it kept flying faster, only causing me to run faster after it. "Hey, get back here!" Of course I felt stupid for running after a bird and screaming at it. I stopped when the bird landed next to Naruto's sleeping body and some girl. The bird dropped it and I stopped running. "Uh…" The girl picked up my locket and turned to me.

"Is this yours?" She asked. I nodded and walked over to her, taking it back. After that, an awkward silence fell in. I shook it off and nudged Naruto with my foot. His eyes opened halfway. "You'll catch a cold sleeping in a place like this."

"Huh?" He sat up, rubbing his eyes and wiping the drool from his face. "Huh? Who are you? Arashi?" He turned to me.

"Yo. Sakura was worried about you." Before Naruto woke up, I had put the locket back around my neck, tucking it into my jacket.

[][][]

After a while of chatting, Naruto and I decided to help her pick some medicine.

"This plant is medicine?" Naruto asked, adding more plants into her basket.

"Thanks for helping me out."

"You sure are working early today, lady."

"You too. What are you two doing here at this time in the morning?"

"Training!" Naruto said excitedly.

"You… That forehead protector… Could you be a ninja?" She asked. Then she looked at me and I raised mine out for her to see. "You too?"

"You noticed? I'm a ninja –ttebayo!!!" He said, pointing at himself.

"Thy are you training?"

"Because I want to become stronger!" He said, grinning.

"Hmm… But you already look strong."

"Nah. He's an idiot most of the time." I whispered to her behind my hand.

"No! I want to become even stronger!!!" The girl stared at him.

"Why is that?"

"So I can become the best in my village! I'm going to make everyone acknowledge my strength! And right now, I need to prove something to someone!" I put a hand to my chin, thinking.

"Is that for someone else? Or for yourself?" Naruto tilted his head to the side, confused. The girl giggled.

"What's so funny…"

"Do you have someone important to you?" _Important person?... My teammates are important… To a certain extent…_ "When a person has something important to protect, that's when they become truly strong."

"Yeah! I understand that very well!" Naruto said. The girl got up with her basket.

"You will become strong. Let's meet again somewhere." Naruto nodded.

"Sure!"

"Oh and… I'm a boy." Naruto and I exchanged looks, both of us shocked. As _he _left, Sasuke came over. I saw him and waved.

"What are you doing here." He asked me. I pointed to Naruto.

"You know as well as I do that Naruto can't fend for himself." I jumped up and clapped him on the back. "Let's go, guys!" I said, leading them to the training area.

[][][]

I stayed with Naruto and Sasuke while they ran up the trees. Eventually, they both got up to the top. I ran up the tree and gave Naruto a high five. We jumped down to the ground, Sasuke helping Naruto walk.

"Oh, you three are finally back." Tazuna said. "You two look really tired and dirty." He said, directing it towards Naruto and Sasuke.

"Heh. Both of us got to the top." Naruto said.

"Alright! Naruto, Sasuke, Arashi. Starting tomorrow, you three will also go and protect Tazuna-san." I helped Naruto and Sasuke sit down at their places at the table before sitting next to Sakura.

"Well, the bridge is almost done." Tazuna said happily. Sakura got up to help Tsunami-san serve dinner. Naruto's head fell on the table, going to sleep. To my right, I saw Inari start to cry. I kicked Naruto under the table and he looked up.

"Huh?"

"Why do you guys bother to try so hard?! No matter how much you train, you're still no match for Gatou's men!! No matter what you say or how hard you work, when facing the strong, the weak will only end up getting killed!" He said, standing up.

"Whatever kid. I'm not like you." Naruto said, keeping his head on the table.

"I'd hate to be like you! You don't know anything about this country yet you're being so nosy! What the hell do you know about me?!? I'm different from you, you're always clowning around and acting so cheerful, you don't know how hard life can be!!!" I shook my head. _What a hypocrite. Saying Naruto doesn't know anything about him then going off about how much more he's been through than Naruto. Idiot~_ I saw Naruto tense up.

"So it's okay for you to pose as the star of a tragedy?" He said monotonously. "Just keep crying forever idiot! You little sissy!" Naruto picked up his head and gave an even more intense glare to Inari than he usually does to Sasuke. Naruto pushed his stool away from the table and stood up. Sakura stood up, her stool scratching against the floor.

"Naruto, you've said enough!" I stood up as well, glaring at her.

"Hey! The kid has to learn someday! I hate people like you, Haruno! Always trying to make everything seem better than it is!" I cursed and ran up the stairs, not bothering to change into my pajamas before going to bed.

My stomach grumbled and I punched it. "Shut up…" I pulled my futon closer to the sliding door and slid it open enough to stare out at the moon.

[Sasuke's POV]

Sasuke was walking past the room where Arashi was and was heading to his room when he heard her stomach growl. Opening the door, he slid in and stood above her.

"What." _Shit, she's awake?..._ She sat up and brushed her bangs back into place. Her stomach growled again and she covered it with her pillow. Sasuke shook his head and walked out. He heard her sigh and pull the covers around her. About to go into his room, he changed his mind and got some leftover's from dinner, walking back up to her room. He set the food down beside her and walked out.

[Arashi's POV]

Hearing a plate and a cup being set down, she waited till the door closed before sitting up and eating. "Thanks Sasuke…" She whispered, knowing he wouldn't have heard her anyways.

[][][]

Naruto hadn't woken up but the team and Tazuna set off, leaving Naruto in his bed. Kakashi-sensei said he needed to rest after training all night and skipping dinner. We got to the bridge, finding several of the workers laying on the floor, some bleeding. The mist started to thicken and we surrounded Tazuna.

FIIIIGGGGHHHHTTTTT (lol sry)


	7. Chapter 06

**(UCHIHA) .:[Until Death Do Us Part]:. (SASUKE) - 06**

"Kakashi-sensei! This is hidden mist no jutsu, right?!?" Sakura asked.

"No, Haruno. This is obviously _not_ hidden mist no jutsu." I said sarcastically, shaking my head. To my left, Sasuke was shaking again. But it was different from before. He wasn't scared this time.

"Long time no see Kakashi." The familiar voice said. Like last time, it was floating through the air, feeling like it was coming from everywhere. "I see you still have those brats. He's shaking again… Poor kid." When Sasuke picked up his head, there were several clones of Zabuza.

"I'm shaking from excitement." He said, smirking.

"Sasuke. Do it." Kakashi-sensei said. In a split second, Sasuke had taken out all of the clones. I blinked. _Was he always _this _good?!? _

"Hmph. He saw through the water clones. That brat has grown." Zabuza said, stepping into view followed by the Hunter-nin. "It looks like a rival has appeared… eh, Haku?"

"It does indeed." The boy beside him replied.

"It seems my guess was right on mark." Kakashi said. "That masked one. He's obviously Zabuza's comrade, standing right next to him and all…"

"I'll fight him." Sasuke said. I stepped up beside him.

"You don't get to be the only cool one today." I said, smirking, turning my Zetsumeigan on. He looked at me through narrow eyes as if saying 'Don't get in my way.'

"Sasuke-kun, you're so cool!" Sakura squealed.

"An impressive young man. Even though the clones only have a tenth of the strength of the original… Still very impressive."

"But we have gained the first advantage. Let's go." As soon as Zabuza said that, Haku appeared in front of Sasuke. He used a kunai to block Haku's attack. _He's fast…_ They fought and I didn't interfere, knowing I would just get in Sasuke's way if I tried.

"Sakura! Guard Tazuna! Let Sasuke and Arashi deal with him!" Kakashi-sensei said, running to go confront Zabuza. Sakura got in front of Tazuna holding out a kunai.

Suddenly I felt my head start to spin, the world around me start to darken. I fell over, feeling numb and cold. _Great. I'm dead and I didn't even get to fight. _

"You're not dead my little _koin_." The voice was eerie and spoke as if he were speaking to a child. I sat up, whipping my head around. There was a faint glow that looked like a dull blue flame. "Yes, I'm over here." He seemed impatient so I got up and walked quickly over to it. Walking up to the flame, it looked as if it were floating above a column. Behind it was a little temple with incense burning. Feeling a cold breeze, my head snapped to the right. Floating there was Shinigami-sama. Just like he looked like in the scroll I found at the old complex. I bowed deeply then stood up, scratching the back of my head.

"Uh… I'm not dead am I? Cause there's a fight outside and I kind of need to help…" He chuckled.

"You aren't dead." I faced him again.

"So why am I here?"

"Your father was one of my koins and he's dead. You are his replacement." I nodded slowly.

"Can't this wait until later though?..." He growled.

"Today is your twelfth birthday. The age at which you inherit the title of being my koin. If you do not accept this now, I will not offer it again. Your cousins will have the right-"

"Okay!" I shouted, cutting him off. I can't let those bastards get any more power. If there's already eleven out there and I have to kill them all later, that's going to be one hell of a fight. "So what do I have to do?" I asked, crossing my arms. He chuckled and floated in a circle around me.

"First." He said, taking out a large scroll. He held it out and I took it. "Your name. In your blood. There." He said, opening it. There were four empty slots so I assumed that that meant I had a couple years, months, days even, to figure out who they were and make sure they don't make the pact. Like I said before, the less of his koins I have to go up against, the easier it'll be when I kill them. I bit my thumb and ran my finger over the paper, spelling out my name. I stood up and closed up the scroll, handing it back to him. He grinned a sickening sort of smile and the scroll disappeared in his hand. "Second. You have 20 favors now that you've become my koin. The amount of favors I need depends on what you're going to do with them. Healing – 5 favors. Protection against harm – 8 favors. Lengthening a persons lifespan by 5 years – 15 favors. Revival – this one, we can talk about. But if they've been dead for 24 hours, then I can't do anything about it. But if you ask for this one, I get to take part of your lifespan to get them back up and breathing." His eyes closed for a while then he held out a round mirror in front of him. "Now might be a good time to use those favors, eh?" Staring into the mirror, Naruto was fighting with Haku and Sasuke was on the floor. They both looked like porcupines, senbon needles sticking out from every inch of their body.

"Hey, Shinigami-sama, is he dead?" I asked, referring to Sasuke. He took a look for himself then nodded. Grumbling, I thought. "Alright. Twenty favors and one-tenth of my life span."

"One-third."

"One-fourth, that's all I'm going to go!" I said, getting impatient. Shinigami-sama sighed.  
"Alright, alright. That kid better mean something to you." I looked away, scowling.

"Just do it and get me out of here." Shinigami-sama let out a chuckle.

"I can't do that, you see?" He had already revived Sasuke but I was stuck in his gate between the world of the living and the dead. She glared at him.

"Why not."

"You don't have any favors to get out of here."

"You never told me I needed any!"

"Well… I can let you out a ghost for now." I slapped a hand to her forehead. The tint of the mirror changed to blue and showed several dark orbs floating around. I squinted her eyes at them. They seemed to giving off a faint glow and were wandering around as if lost.

"Those are?..."

"Souls. Normal humans can't see them. But you and my other koins can. This is so that they can gather them. Those souls will turn into favors when you turn them in and each soul is worth ten favors, no more, no less." Right now, there were two close by. With no more questions, I felt a gust of cold air and shut my eyes. When I opened them, I could see the souls and caught them carefully and looked around trying to figure out how to get back. I walked over to my body and poked it with my foot, the gust of air bringing me back in front of Shinigami-sama. I held the two souls close to me.

"So what happens to them after I give these to you?..." I didn't want them to end up going to hell for nothing.

"I send the good ones to heaven and the bad ones…" He trailed off and I felt a chill in the air. Holding the souls in my palm, they floated up as if knowing where to go and landed in Shinigami-sama's hand. He placed them on an ancient balance and directed them to follow the path lit by floating blue flames. "Alright kid, it takes two favors to get you out of here so you have 18 now. And this scroll-" He handed me a light grey-blue scroll tied closed with a red ribbon. "-is to get yourself here, so I don't have to call you myself." I nodded, putting the scroll in my back pouch. "Good luck." He chuckled and my soul went back into my body. I sat up straight, looking around. Kakashi and Sasuke were looking at me worriedly. Sakura and Naruto were talking to the villagers. I stood up and walked over to Kakashi.

"What happened?" I looked up and saw his eye widen slightly.

"What?..."

"Your eyes." Sasuke said. Taking out a polished kunai, I looked and instead of the pinkish-purple they once were, they were bright red. I shrugged. Kakashi-sensei however, looked as if he already knew what had happened. _I'll have to ask him later._

[][][]

The day after we got back, Kakashi-sensei called us for a mission. Instead of the usual meeting place, we met on some random road. I stood there with Sasuke and Sakura, Naruto being late, knowing Kakashi-sensei would be anyways. Recently, I found out that I could capture souls without becoming a ghost. Apparently, when I had the Zetsumeigan on, I could see souls. And Shinigami-sama gave me a special little box that would hold the souls until I saw him again.

Sasuke, Sakura, and I were there, Sakura fawning over him as usual. I found myself yelling at her in my mind.** Hey! Get off****him, you witch! That Uchiha belongs to Arashi~** I blinked, wondering where the hell that came from.

_What the hell…_

**Oh hey there!** I groaned in my head, thinking myself to have gone crazy.

_Should there really be another person in my mind?..._

**Ahaha… Guess who I am, sweetie!**

_I have no idea._

The other voice in my head cleared his voice. I'm guessing it was a 'he' since it had a masculine voice, awkward with his bubbly personality. **I am your father.** He said seriously, before breaking into laughter. Naruto got here running and waved.

"Hey Sakura-chan! Arashi-chan!" He said happily. He turned his head to glare at Sasuke at the same time Sasuke did. They both turned away, crossing their arms. I walked over to Sasuke and kicked his butt.

"Quit being a jerk face." He brushed off his shorts and raised an eyebrow.

"Hn. Quit being so immature." I pouted and crossed my arms. **Ooooh~ **

_You stay out of this!_ I scolded. Of course he can't be my dad, right? He's dead. Naruto was trying to talk to Sakura who was trying to get away from him.

**But I am your daddy!!! Shinigami-sama put me in that scroll…** I imagined the man on the left side of my locket pouting and acting like a little kid, giving me puppy eyes. **Oh yeah! Congrats on becoming his koin~**

_Hey… If you are my dad, why'd my mother marry such an immature person?_ Once again, my imagination put forth an image of him whimpering, a waterfall of tears streaming down his face.

**S-she said she liked my personality!**

_Whatever. _

**Why is my daughter being so mean to me?!?**

_Why the heck are you so childish!_

Sasuke was looking at me funny so I shoved him, pouting and went to talk to Naruto.

[][][]

Eventually, Kakashi-sensei came and as if it were routine, Naruto and Sakura jumped up and pointed at him, calling him a liar and scolding him for being late. He apologized and jumped down in front of us. Naruto started rambling about how he wanted to get a super awesome mission. Because he wants to show off to Sasuke. I glanced over at him and looked back at Kakashi-sensei when he caught me.

[][][]

We got done with today's boring mission and Sakura ended up helping Naruto walk, his arm over her shoulder. I almost laughed at that. Well you know, he wanted to walk down the street, arm around her shoulders. But not when he was exhausted and looked the worst out of all of us.

"Sasuke, it's all your fault the teamwork is messed up!" Naruto shouted at him, shaking a fist.

"I think it's you." A bird flew overhead, one of the special ones that Kakashi-sensei always left us when he saw it.

"Well, I'm going to turn in this mission report." He said, as I expected him to. Sasuke turned to walk away. I looked at Kakashi-sensei who was still here.

"Hey, didn't you say you were going to leave?" He grinned under his mask and held up a finger to his lips and pointed at Sasuke and Sakura.

"Then, I'm going home." Sakura jumped at his voice and skipped after him.

"Sasuke-kun! Then how about the two of us work on our team-"

"To be frank, your as bad as Naruto." She wilted. "No, you're worse than him. If you've got time to bother than me then try learning a jutsu or two." He walked away, leaving Sakura looking buried beneath his words. I gaped at Kakashi-sensei. Naruto, not being able to read the atmosphere, jumped and waved his hands at Sakura.

"Sakura-chan! Forget that stupid prick, let's train together!" He said happily. The air around Sakura darkened and Kakashi-sensei poofed away. Naruto looked around stupidly, asking "Where's Kakashi-sensei?" I shook my head and walked over to Sakura.

"Hey, wanna go train?" She looked hollow and shook her head slowly, glaring at Naruto. "Nevermind then." I said, nearly tripping over a box. A box that was hopelessly trying to look like a rock.

"What kind of rock is square with two holes in it?!?" Naruto shouted, pointing at the kids that crawled out of the box.

"Hey, it's Konohamaru!" I said, waving. He grinned and crossed his arms, standing in front of Naruto.

"This is the man I view as my rival." He said proudly. I walked over and crouched in front of him, pointing to myself.

"What about me?" I asked, tilting my head.

"And is this is Arashi-nee-chan. She's cooler than Naruto-nii though." He whispered the last part to his friends behind his hand. Naruto didn't notice and crossed his arms behind his head.

"What's with the goggles?"

"We're copying the old you, Naruto-nii!" Now that I looked, all three of them had on the same green goggles that Naruto used to wear.

"Um… Are you free today?" The little girl asked.

"Nope! I'm training today!" They all whined, pouting at him.

"But you promised to play ninja with us!!!" Sakura had walked over sometime and still carried that gloomy air with her.

"What kind of ninja would play ninja…" She said, her voice monotonous.

"Hey, nii-chan, who's this girl?" Konohamaru asked, pointing at Sakura. He though for a moment and then patted Naruto on the back. "Not bad nii-chan." Naruto had a confused look on his face. "She's your…" He wiggled his pinky finger. "This." Sakura saw and glared at the both of them. Naruto chuckled, a blush on his face and rubbed the back of his head.

"Wrong!!!" Sakura yelled, punching him in the face, sending him flying.

"Nii-chan!!!" Konohamaru, Moegi and Udon ran over to him. Maybe it was just that I was used to this that I didn't bother trying to help him anymore. "How dare you, you ugly bitch!" I slapped a hand on my forehead and shook my head, hearing Sakura crack her knuckles. By the time she was done, Konohamaru and Naruto had big bumps on their heads and several bruises. "Geez. That huge ugly big forehead… Is that really a girl nii-chan?" Sakura stopped in mid-step and started chasing them.

"Naruto, I'm going home!" I shouted after them, walking in the other direction.

I sighed, thanking my luck for not being Naruto. I hadn't even gotten off of the street when Moegi came running into me, tugging on my jacket. "Yeah?" She had a worried look on her face.

"Konohamaru-kun is in trouble!" I sighed and picked her up, running in the direction she pointed in. I set her down when I saw two Sand ninja, the one in black holding Konohamaru up. Just to be safe, I activated the Zetsumeigan. Naruto was on the floor, a glowing blue string of chakra wrapped around his ankle. I ran over to the guy, seeing his face shocked when his little chakra strings didn't work. _Yay Level 1!__Even though it's still weak! _I drew my fist back and punched the guy in the face after he dropped Konohamaru. Glancing at his hand, there was a cut and a line of blood. I looked up in the tree and sure enough, Sasuke was there, tossing a rock up and down in his hand.

"What are you bastards doing in our village?" Konohamaru ran in front of Naruto.

"Naruto-nii, you suck."

"Tch. Another guy who pisses me off. And what's with this little brat…" He directed the last part to me, staring curiously at my eyes. I switched the Zetsumeigan off but turned it back on, focusing on a spot in the trees. That wasn't any normal chakra. And a lot of it was concentrated in a gourd-shape, on the back of a person around my height, I would guess.

"Hey, you're even going to use Karasu?" The girl asked , holding a hand out to him.

"Kankuro, stop it." The voice came from a guy with red hair hanging upside down from a tree branch. "You're an embarrassment to our village." I turned the Zetsumeigan off when his eyes met mine and turned to look at something else.

"G-Gaara…"

"Losing yourself in a fight, how ridiculous. Why do you think we came to Konoha?" His voice was so… eerie. **Stay away from him.** I blinked and would've started looking around if my hand hadn't reached up to fiddle with my locket.

_Well, haven't heard you in a while. I already noticed something was strange about him. So don't worry-_

"Shut up. I'll kill you." I gulped. Weren't they teammates?...

**If you can avoid him, avoid him. Don't get near him. Especially in the Second Exam.**

_Exam? What Exam?_

**You'll learn soon enough.**

"We didn't come here to play around." In a swirl of sand, Gaara was beside his teammates.

"I know, I'm sorry…" From the tone of their voices, Temari and Kankuro seemed to be scared of Gaara.

"Let's go."

"Hey, wait!" Sakura shouted. They turned around and had to listen to her nag at them for being in out village. Temari took out a slip of paper and held it up, chuckling.

"What, do you guys live under a rock?" She tucked it away and put a hand on her hip. "We're here to take the Chuunin Exams." Naruto had to make us look even more stupid and ask what it was. She explained and could've just as easily said it was to see if the Genin were ready to be promoted to the Chuunin level.

"Hey, what's your name?" Sasuke asked after getting down to where we were.

"Sabaku no Gaara. I am also interested in your name."

"Uchiha Sauske." He stated proudly. They left, Gaara giving a last glance at me before following his teammates. Naruto pouted and glared at Sasuke, most likely jealous.

**If you guys get in the Chuunin Exams, don't use your Zetsumeigan so much around people. And there's probably going to be a lot of souls floating around there, so don't forget to pick them up.**

_Okay, okay. I already thought about that. Except for the "a lot of souls" part. It's not going to be a walk in the park, is it._

**Nope.** He seemed to have calmed down from before. Or maybe he just had split personalities.

[][][]

"Naruto, get over it and teach me Kage Bunshin!" I said, following after him and pulling on his sleeve.

"I already told you how to do it!" I let go and fell back, laying down in the grass. He sighed and sat down cross legged and crossed his arms.

We trained for a while and the most I could make was around 25. But they didn't last long, especially when I had the Zetsumeigan on. When I tested how far we could be separated, I found out that their… 'memories', I guess you would call it were brought back in me, so I could see what had happened.

"Hey, Naruto." I paused, taking a sip from my juice box. "When are you and Sakura gonna go out?"

"Whenever she gets over Sasuke and realizes how much cooler I am than him!" I laughed and sat up, pulling the ribbons out of my hair and brushed my hair with my fingers. "Hey, how come you only use those ribbons?" I shrugged and tied them back up.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow. See ya." I said, standing up and waved, walking back to my house.

[][][]

"I don't get it!!! Why does the person that asks us to meet have to be late!" Sakura yelled, fed up with Kakashi-sensei's habit of being late.

"Then just get here later. Geez." That's what I did. Actually, I had just gotten here.

"What about the feelings of a young girl that didn't have time to blow dry her hair?!?" Naruto was right beside her, cheering.

"Yeah, yeah! I overslept too and didn't wash my face of brush my teeth!" We all took a couple steps away from him.

"Eww… Naruto-kun, that's gross." He laughed and scratched the back of his head.

"Morning guys!" We all looked up at Kakashi-sensei who was sitting on the top of a gate. "Today I got lost on the road of life."

"Yeah right! Quit lying!" Naruto and Sakura yelled in unison. Kakashi-sensei jumped off and stood in front of us.

"Well anyways… This is sudden but I've entered you guys in the Chuunin Exams." He said calmly.

"What did you say?!?"

"You think that makes up for-"

"Here are your applications." He said, holding out four slips of paper. All of us were at some level of happiness. Naruto especially, who jumped on Kakashi-sensei hugging him.

"Kakashi-sensei, I love you!!!" After the hug fest was over and everyone calmed down sensei started talking.

"All I've done is entered you. Whether or not you want to take the exam is up to you. Those who wish to take it should sign those forms and turn them in at room 301 by 4PM tomorrow. That is all." He poofed away and left us staring at the papers.

"I'm definitely going to take this." I stated, digging out a pen. I signed the paper and folded it carefully, tucking it into my pocket. "What about…" When I looked at them, Naruto and Sasuke both looked ready to win this. Or maybe they just wanted to fight some really strong people. While I was walking along lost in my own thoughts, I didn't even notice that we had left Sakura behind to think on her own.

(Heeeeeeeeeeeeeyyyyyyyyy…I haven't been writing since forever, as you may or may not have noticed. Haha… But thanks to uh… sorry, I can't remember your name XI I've decided to pick up the story again. Lol. So I know this one sucked but I thought it was a good place to end this chapter before it got too long, if it wasn't already. Keep reading cuz I've decided to BS school work and spend my time writing or playing GW. PM me if you play! XD)


	8. Chapter 07

**(UCHIHA) .:[Until Death Do Us Part]:. (SASUKE) – 07**

"The Chuunin Exam isn't that easy. Even we have failed it straight three times. Those that take this exam and end up quitting as shinobis, those that die during the exam, we've seen it all. And Chuunins often become team captains. The failure of a mission, the death of a comrade… That's all the leader's responsibility. Yet, kids like you think you can pass?" He said, eyeing the two on the floor. "We're just thinning out those that will fail anyways. What's wrong with that?" We followed Sasuke to the front of the crowd.

"Will you just let me through?" Sasuke asked annoyed. "And remove this genjutsu. I'm going to the third floor."

"Ah. So you've noticed?" When we had walked into this building, I flickered the Zetsumeigan like dad told me to. He said it would be dangerous and to stay alert at all times, even when the exams weren't taking place. Not all of the countries are allies.

"Sakura, you must have noticed first, right? Your analytical ability and genjutsu know-how is the most improved on our team." I gaped. _Hey, what's up with that! Shouldn't that be me he's talking about?! _Sasuke saw me looking at him pouting and leaned down and whispered, "Sakura seems off today so I'm just trying to get her to act normal so she doesn't drag the team down." I glanced at Sakura who was gloating and shrugged. The sign on the door wavered and turned into 201.

"Hmm… Not bad, but all you did was se through it!" The kid at the door said, bringing his leg up for a kick. The guy next to him was getting ready to back him up. Sasuke would get the guy closer and I dashed in front of the other guy, grabbing his arm and twisted it behind his back, standing behind him and held his other wrist with my left hand. When I looked over at Sasuke, the guy in green that was on the floor a second ago was in between them, holding their legs. _Holy… That guy wasn't as close as I was but he was… faster? What the hell…_ He let go and I glanced at the guy I was holding before letting him go and walked over back to my team. The guy in green went back to his team, the girl that got knocked to the floor and a Hyuuga.

"Hey Lee. What happened to the plan? You're the one who said we shouldn't draw attention to ourselves." The Hyuuga said.

"Well…" Lee started, blushing and glanced at Sakura. His other teammate shook her head. Lee walked over to where Sakura and Naruto were. I was standing with Sasuke beside the Hyuuga and the other girl. "My name is Rock Lee. Sakura-chan, let's go out together! I'll protect you till I die!" He said with a glittering smile and a thumbs up. Sakura's face was blank.

"No way. You're lame." I sighed as Lee wilted and walked over to sulk by the wall.

"Hey you." The Hyuuga said to Sasuke. "What's your name?" Sasuke turned and smirked.

"When asking for a persons name, you should give yours first."

"You're a rookie right? How old are you?"

"I don't have to answer you." Sasuke stated and walked away. The Hyuuga turned to me and I gave an apologetic look.

"What's your name?" I tilted my head, wondering if he really wanted to know.

"Tenma Arashi, 12 years old. Sorry about Sasuke. But really, you should know him by now, shouldn't you? Uchiha Sasuke, also 12 years old." I said, crossing my arms. The girl was staring after Sasuke clasping her hands together. "You know if Hinata-chan is taking this exam?" His eyebrows twitched and I knew I hit a nerve. _Must be from the branch family._

"She is."

"The Hyuuga clan is just about as well known as the Uchihas. You should know about people in your own village, you know." He looked at me annoyed. An arm slip through mine and I felt myself being dragged along. I waved to the rest of Lee's team and pulled out of Sakura's grasp, walking on my own.

"Let's go Arashi!" She said cheerily.

[][][]

On the way to the room, we were stopped by Lee and his challenge to Sasuke.

"Hey you, with the dark eyes." We stopped and turned to look up at Lee who was standing on the balcony. Sakura had a horrid look on her face.

"What is it?" Sasuke asked casually.

"Will you fight me here, now?"

"Right now?"

"Yes." Lee jumped down and landed a couple feet in front of us. "My name is Rock Lee. When you ask for a person's name, you should introduce yourself first, right? Uchiha Sasuke."

"Heh. So you know?" I swatted my bands to the left.

"Only if they lived under a rock would they not know." I mumbled.

"I want to fight you. To test my techniques against an Uchiha." He glanced at Sakura who shrieked when he winked and a heart floated to her. "Sakura-chan, you're an angel!" He blew another kiss and another heart went to attack her. She bent over backwards and dodged a dozen or so more until she hit her head leaning back.

"Don't throw weird stuff at me!!!" He had a sad puppy-dog look on his face.

"You didn't have to dodge them that badly…"

"Challenging me knowing the Uchiha name, frankly, you're a fool. You're about to learn what this name means, fuzzy brows." _The heck. With a serious statement like that, you'd think he'd leave the nickname out._ Lee got in stance.

"Wait!" We all looked at Naruto. "I'll take care of fuzzy brows. Just give me five minutes." He said seriously.

"The one I want to fight is not you. It's Sasuke-kun." Naruto got ticked and ran at him.

"Dammit, I'm tired of hearing about Sasuke this, Sasuke that!" In less than five seconds, Naruto was thrown into the wall behind them. I shook my head watching Naruto tumble around.

"I'll say this… You guys cannot beat me. Because right now… I am the strongest Konoha Genin." Sasuke smirked, ready for a challenge.

"Sounds fun, I'll accept your challenge." I furrowed my brows and Sasuke glanced at me. "You want to fight him first?" I brightened up.

"Hell yeah I do!" I took a step forward. "What about it Lee?" He sighed.

"I want to fight Sasuke-kun. But I also want to fight you." I grinned. _Alright, no weapons or jutsus. Seems like he's a Taijutsu user. And a damn good one too._

"Arashi, don't!" Sakura said, looking at the clock. "We only have 30 minutes until the meeting!" Ignoring her,I dashed forward and jumped, dodging a kick and landed on his leg with my right, swinging my left towards his head. He tilted his head to the right and my leg brushed his hair. Smirking, I pulled my leg towards me, catching his neck between my calf and thigh. With my right leg, I kicked his left under him but before I landed, he caught himself and went for a punch to my head. Since I was crouching, I jumped up and he ended up kicking the bottom of my foot, helping me spin and with my right leg, I kicked him in the jaw. Or, I would've had he not caught my foot with his hand. I locked my elbows and landed on my palms, spinning to throw him off and stood up.

"You're going easy on me, aren't you." I said, annoyed. Comparing his speed to that of before, he was only staying fast enough to block my attacks.

"Sorry, but I really only want to fight Sasuke-kun." I sighed and glanced back at Sasuke.

"If we meet in the later Exams, don't hold back." I warned Lee. He nodded and I walked over to Sasuke and Sakura. "Sasuke, don't underestimate him. And don't think that just because you're an Uchiha no one can beat your ass." Sasuke took a step forward and Sakura had to start screaming again.

"Sasuke-kun, don't!"

"I'll be done in five minutes." _I told that idiot not to get full of himself!_ Lee used the same attack that threw Naruto back on Sasuke who was forced to keep blocking against Lee's kicks. Sasuke got thrown back, even though it looked like he had dodged. Sakura was equally surprised as I was. When Sasuke stood up, he had the Sharingan on. _Ah geez, he's really gonna… If he keeps relying on that thing, he's gonna get weak._ When Sasuke ran forward, Lee crouched down and kicked him up.

"That's right. My techniques are neither ninjutsu nor genjutsu." Naruto woke up when Lee used Shadow Leaf Dance. (Frikin geez. I'm going by the manga and they translated all of the jutsus so bear with me on this, alright?)

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted, looking up at them.

"My techniques are simply Taijutsu, Sasuke-kun. You may not believe that because they are so basic but they say that the Sharingan has the ability to read all types of nin, gen, and tai –jutsu. It is true that by reading ninjutsu and genjutsu which need chakra to be raised and seals to be performed, the Sharingan helps give a little advantage. But Taijutsu is a little different."

"What do you mean?" The bandages on Lee's arms started to unwrap.

"Even if you can read my movements with your eyes, your body doesn't have the time or speed to react to my Taijutsu. Basically, even if your eyes can see it, if your body is too slow, then it's useless." _Which is why he should train without the stupid Sharingan!_ "Do you know this? Among strong people exists geniuses and the hard working type. If your Sharingan is a genius type from the Uchiha blood then I am simply a hard working person who has mastered Taijutsu. You could say that my ultimate Taijutsu is the worst possible type of match-up for your Sharingan. And I'll prove it with this technique… That hard work surpasses geniuses." Ont of Lee's bandages were pined to the wall by a pin-wheel thrown by… a turtle?!?

"That's enough Lee." _Holy fuck, it spoke! _Lee was pulled towards the wall and Sasuke started falling. I grabbed Sakura's arm and launched her over under Sasuke who landed on her.

"Sasuke-kun!" They slid for a while and he rolled off her. _He didn't even try to land._ "Sasuke-kun, are you alright?"

"So you were watching." Lee said glumly to the turtle.

"Lee! That technique is forbidden!"

"I'm sorry…" The turtle gave him a hard look and Lee stood up. "But I wasn't planning on using the other one!" Naruto ran over to Sakura and pointed to the turtle.

"Hey, hey… That's a turtle, right?"

"Isn't that obvious?" Sakura stated simply.

"Can a turtle become a sensei?" He asked.

"How should I know!"

"You fool!!!" the turtle scolded Lee, getting my attention. "You think you can get away with an excuse like that?!? You already know what it means for a shinobi to reveal his special techniques!" Lee bowed his head guiltily. "Are you ready to pay for your mistakes?"

"Yes."

"Then here comes Gai-sensei!" there was a puff of smoke on the turtles back and an older, scarier, more extreme version of Lee came out. My mouth dropped. "You guys are at the epitome of your youth!!!" Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke and I freaked out. Various ways of saying "That's so gross.", "look at how thick those eyebrows are!", and "No way!!! Is that even possible?!?", came out of our mouths.

"Hey!!! Stop insulting Gai-sensei!!!" Lee shouted, shaking a fist. _Aah. So if he's their sensei, then that turtle must be his summon._

"Shut up!!! All these freaks keep appearing, how the hell are we supposed to react?!?" Naruto shouted back. I covered Naruto's mouth with my hand, muffling more insults and bowed, making Naruto bow with me.

"Naruto, shut up!" I scolded.

"What did you-"

"Lee…" Gai-sensei motioned him over.

"Yes!" Lee stopped looking mad and walked over to Gai-sensei and got punched in the face and fell on the floor.

"You fool!!!" After that, Gai-sensei kneeled down and both Lee and Gai-sensei had tears streaming down their faces.

"Sensei, I…!"

"Lee, that's enough, you don't need to say it."

"Sensei!!!" Lee jumped up and they hugged. The four of us still with our sanity were freaking out even more. I could've sworn I heard Sasuke say something like, "I lost to HIM?..." I shook my head at Naruto who was saying weird stuff about how cool that actually was.

"Lee. You started a fight and almost broke my rules. Your punishment will come after the exam." Lee saluted and straightened up. "500 laps around the practice range!!!" Gai-sensei said, throwing a fist in the air.

"Yes!!!" Lee shouted just as enthusiastically. Gai-sensei looked over in our direction and Sakura cringed.

"Ugh! He's looking over here…"

"Hey, you guys, how's Kakashi doing?"

"You know Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked curiously. Gai-sensei chuckled.

"Know him?" He was standing by the turtle until his voice came again, this time from behind us. _Hey hey!!! What's us with that?!? He's faster than Lee?!?_ "People would call us 'eternal rivals'". 50 wins, 49 losses. I'm stronger than Kakashi." I swallowed my surprise.

"Then how come the score is almost even?" I asked, trying to stick up for Kakashi-sensei. Gai-sensei put a hand on my head and next to me, Sakura melted, mumbling about how I'm going to die being touched by this guy. Instinctively, I grabbed his hand and twisted it, turning myself around and threw him over my back. He landed on his hand, and I let go, backing away behind Sasuke. Gai-sensei chuckled and jumped up.

"Aah, it must be great to be so young!!! Sorry about Lee, I swear to this face, it won't happen again." He said, pointing a thumb to Lee. "You guys and Lee should head over to the classroom." With a flip of his wrist, the pinwheel came loose from the wall and Lee started wrapping the bandages on again. While he was, I got a look at the bruises and cuts on his hands. "Good luck Lee." Gai-sensei said before disappearing.

"Sasuke-kun, I'll say one more thing. I came here to test my abilities. I lied before. Most likely, the strongest Konoha Genin is on my team. I've entered this exam to defeat him. And you are also one of my targets. Be prepared during the exam!" He said and jumped back up the balcony, scampering off to his team. _So the strongest is on his team, huh. _I glanced over at Sasuke. He had a look on his face that said he was going to beat this guy down.

"So I guess the Uchiha clan isn't worth that much these days." Naruto said, crossing his arms behind his head.

"Naruto, shut up!" Sakura screamed at him.

"Shut up. Next time, I'll beat him."

"Sure. You just got your ass kicked."

"Hey, Naruto, stop-"

"You saw his hands too, didn't you? Fuzzy brows must've trained really hard, everyday. More than you. That's all it is." That angered look washed away from Sasuke's face and he smirked.

"This Chuunin exam has started to get exciting. Let's go kick ass."

[][][]

At room 301, we met up with Kakashi-sensei. "Oh, so Sakura came too. Now there's a problem…" I raised an eyebrow.

"What's that supposed to mean?..." Sakura asked, getting defensive.

"Well, the truth is, is that this exam can only be taken in teams of three."

"What? Didn't you say that the test was an individual choice? You lied to us?" Naruto asked.

"If I told the truth, Sakura would have most likely not taken the exam." _Only three…_ "Honestly, I thought that if I told you only three could enter, Sakura would have been pressured by Sasuke and Arashi to not take it. Naruto would've wanted her too and Arashi, being Naruto's friend probably would've let her. Even if Sasuke would've wanted Arashi to go because he thought that Sakura was weaker. I'm proud of you guys that all of you have come."

"But…" I started. "Didn't you say that only three of us can enter?" Kakashi grinned.

"I got special permission from Hokage-sama to let a fourth enter, just in came all of you showed up like you did." I gave a sigh of relief. "Now, go!" He stepped aside and we walked through the doors.

"Let's go!"

"Wow…"

"What's with this…" When we opened the doors, all eyes were on us. The room was packed full and it looked like there weren't enough seats for everyone.

"Sasuke-kun, you're late!" I groaned hearing Ino's voice. When I looked, she was hanging off of him. He looked uncomfortable and Sakura started screaming at her. "I've waited so long to see you again." He looked at her annoyed.

"Get off of Sasuke-kun, you pig!"

"Well, if it isn't Sakura. Big ugly forehead as always."

"What did you say?!?" Sasuke had managed to shove Ino off of him and stepped on the other side of Naruto to keep from Ino and Sakura.

"Are you guys taking this stupid exam too? Don't die."

"Oh! The idiot trio!" Naruto said, seeing Chouji and Shikamaru too.

"Well look who's here." I looked to see Kiba and Akamaru and waved. "Well, looks like everyone's here."

"Geez… You guys too?" Shikamaru said grumbling.

"So all of this year's rookie ten are taking the exam. I wonder how far we'll get, eh Sasuke?"

"Pfft. You seem confident Kiba." Sasuke said.

"We did a lot of training. We're not going to lose to you."

"Shut up!!! Sasuke might, but I won't lose to you, dog breath!" Naruto shouted.

"Hey, you guys. You should be quieter." Some guy with glasses said, walking over to us. "You guys are just rookies fresh out of the academy, right? Screaming like school girls, geez. This isn't a picnic, you know."

"Who do you think you are?" Ino said arrogantly.

"I'm Kabuto. But instead of that, look behind you." We all turned our heads to see rather tense faces glaring at us. "Those guys behind you are from hidden rain and they have short tempers. Everyone is nervous about the exam, so try not to make a scene. Well I can't really blame you. You're just a bunch of clueless rookies. You remind me of how I used to be."

"Kabuto-san, right?" He nodded his head. "So this is your second time?" _No way. He looks older than a year or two older than us._

"Nope. My seventh. This exam is held twice a year so this is my fourth year."

"Wow. So you know a lot about this exam." He nodded.

"Then I'll share some information with you rookies. With these information cards." He said, holding up a deck.

"Nin-info cards?" Sakura echoed.

"They're basically cards with information burned onto them with chakra. I have four years worth of into here. Over 200 cards. They look blank out in the open but…" He took a card out and spun it on the floor with his finger. "You can't view them without my chakra." When he was done, there was a map and several bars standing up.

"Wow. A really easy-to-read graph. What kind of info is this?" Someone asked.

"This is the number of those taking the exam and the breakdown of what country they're from."

"Do you have cards with info on individual people on them?" Sasuke asked.

"So there's some guys you're worried about?" Kabuto asked gleefully. "Of course. The info on all the people taking this exam isn't perfect but I do have it. Even on you guys. Say something about these guys and I'll take a look."

"Sabaku no Gaara from Sand and Rock Lee from Konoha."

"So you know their names? Should be easy." He flipped through some cards and pulled out two. "Ok. First is Rock Lee. He's a year older than you guys. Mission History: 20 completed D-rank, 12 completed C-rank. His sensei is Gai. His Taijutsu is has improved greatly this year, the rest is nothing impressive. Last year he gained attention as a talented new Genin but did not participate in the exam. Like you guys, this is his first time. On his team are Hyuuga Neji and TenTen." He set that one down and picked up the other card. "Next is Sabaku no Gaara. Mission history: 8 completed C-rank, 1 B-rank. Wow, a B-rank mission as a Genin… Since he's a newcomer from a foreign country, I don't have much info on him but it seems he returned from all his missions without even a scratch."

_So as I thought… That guy is someone we should stay away from._

"Leaf, Sand, Grass, Waterfall, Sound. Many outstanding genins from the various hidden villages are here to take this exam. Well.. the Hidden Sound village is a small village just created last year so there isn't much info but the rest of the hidden villages are filled with talented youngsters."

"So basically, the people here are…" _Really strong…_ I thought to myself, finishing Sakura's sentence.

"This isn't going to be easy." Naruto lowered his head and started shaking. Sakura walked over to him and held a hand out to him.

"Hey Naruto, don't get so down…"

"MY NAME IS UZUMAKI NARUTO AND I WON'T LOSE TO YOU BASTARDS!!!" He shouted, pointing at everyone with a confident look on his face. "You got that?!?"

"Hey!!! What the hell is he doing?!?" Ino screeched.

"Aah… that felt great!" He said, crossing his arms behind his head.

"'You won't lose to those bastards'? Big words… show off." Kiba said, snickering behind his hand.

"What a moron… He just turned everyone here into his enemy…" Shikamaru said, sighing. Sakura tackled Naruto and chocked him while shaking him.

"What the hell are you doing?!?"

"I was just telling the truth!!!" He squealed. When Sakura saw everyone looking at her, she let go of Naruto and put on the good-girl routine.

"Sorry about him… He's a bit of a moron…" There were a couple pairs of light footsteps heading over to where we were and I turned my head to look. One of the guys jumped up, throwing a different type of kunai and I tossed two shuriken, catching them by the hole in the middle of the kunai, unlike the ones we use where there's a hole at the end of the handle, and they stuck to the wall. Kabuto skid back to be confronted by another hidden sound. He dodged a punch but his glasses broke.

"What's going on? He dodged but his glasses…" Sasuke said.

"It probably hit his nose. That's what you get for acting like a big shot." Shikamaru said, huffing. Kabuto fell over and threw up. I cringed. _Gross…_

"Ah! He threw up!" Naruto shouted.

"Kabuto-san!!!" Sakura shouted, worried about someone other than Sasuke for once. "Are you alright?" She asked, her and Naruto helped him up.

"I'm fine."

"How pathetic. Especially since you're a four-year vetran?"

"Write this on your cards, 'The three Hidden Sound ninjas, definite future Chuunins.'" I stepped up and crossed my arms.

"Tch. Only way you're going to pass is if I don't meet up with you guys later and kick your asses."

"Quiet down you worthless punks!!!" The voice came from the smoke that engulfed the front of the room. Standing there was Morino Ibiki and over a dozen Chuunins. "Thanks for waiting. I'm Morino Ibiki, the first proctor for the first exam." He pointed a gloved hand at the Sound nins. "Hidden Sound guys, stop doing as you please before the exam. Do you want to fail already?"

"I apologize. This is our first time so we got carried away." The furry one said.

"Bah. Here's a good opportunity to say this. There will be no fighting without the permission of the examiner. Even if permission is granted, killing your opponent will not be tolerated. Those pigs that disobey me will be failed immediately. Do I make myself clear?"

"Heh. This exam sounds easy." One of the other sound nins said. A quiet sort of laughter went around through the Chuunins in the front of the room.

"We will now start the first test in the Chuunin Exam. Instead of your current seating arrangements, You will pick one of these up," He held up a tile with a number on it, "and sit in the seat assigned to you. We will then hand out one the exams." Another Chuunin who looked quite familiar held up a stack of papers. Naruto freaked out.

"A WRITTEN TEST?!?"

[][][]

"Do not turn your test over." I was sitting next to some people from Konoha and Waterfall. A few rows down, I swear I saw red eyes. _My_ red eyes. Well, you know. Not mine but, a koins eyes. That pissed me off. I didn't get a good look at their headband though. "Listen closely to what I have to say. There are many important rules to this test. I'll write it on the board while I explain, but questions will not be allowed, so listen carefully. The first rule. All you guys will start out with ten points. The test is made up of ten questions and each is worth one point but this test uses a subtraction system. Basically, if you answer all of the questions correctly, you keep your ten points. But say if you miss three questions, you lose three points and you end up with seven. The second rule… This is a team test. Whether you pass or not will be determined by the combined score of your teammates. So each team will compete to see how many points they can hold on to from the initial team score of 30." _Good. It's out of 30 so if I can balance out Naruto, we'll still pass._ "The special team of four, listen up." _Huh? Is that us? _"Your initial team score is 40 so don't think you'll get away with a stupid teammate." Sakura's head fell on the desk a couple rows back.

"Wait a second!!! Why is it a team test?!?" She shouted.

"Shut up. You don't have the right to question me. There is a reason for this so be quiet and listen to me." She quieted down and he continued. "Ok. Now for the last and most important rule. The third rule is that during the exam, anyone caught by the testing officers doing sneaky activities, namely cheating, will have two points subtracted for every offense. So there will be some who will lose all their points and be asked to leave. Realize that the pathetic ones caught cheating will be destroying themselves. As shinobis trying to achieve the level of Chuunin, be proud ninjas. And the final rule…" _The 'last' rule as already said… Make up your mind!_ "Those that lose their all of their initial points during the test and those that don't answer any of the questions correctly will be failed along with their teammates." I could imagine Sasuke and Sakura's faces. All of our eyes focused on Naruto and I could tell he was feeling the pressure when he started slouching in his seat. "The exam will last one hour. Begin!"

[][][]

_A cryptogram?_ I picked up my pencil and filled it out in a couple minutes then looked at the other questions. _Sakura with that huge forehead of hers should be able to answer these._ So there was no need to worry about her. Sasuke would figure someway around this but Naruto… Geez. I hope he doesn't get us disqualified. _So now I can either wait for the tenth question or try to answer all the rest of these. … Better make up for the lost points from Naruto, eh?_ I put my elbows on the table and covered my eyes when I switched the Zetsumeigan on, peeking through my fingers. A lot of chakra was focused in Sasuke's eyes and to my right, there was a mass of chakra floating around. Turning the Zetsumeigan off, it was an eye ball with specks of sand floating around it. _So by 'don't cheat', he meant, don't get caught!_ I glanced down at my paper and then grinned, looking around the room for someone that knew all the questions. There was one guy in the very front who was writing non-stop.

I had waited until he stopped writing till I turned the Zetsumeigan on again. Even if my Level 2 is still really weak, it should be enough to get it right… I took a deep breath and focused on the guys' hand. Taking the chakra from the air around him, I made him fold up his paper into a little square. His hand was shaking against my chakra and so I started leaning forward, trying to get better control. Eventually, I had gotten him to give up and reach up to make it look like he was scratching his head and flick the paper to people. Then taking control of them, I had them pass it all the way in front of me, unfolded. I flattened it out and wrote over his handwriting so that the paper would tear. When I was done, a copy of his work was on my paper. Smiling happily to myself, I crumpled it up and closing my hands around it, struck enough lightning through it so that there was a pile of ash on my desk. I blew it off and then stopped, staring at the back of Naruto's sweating head. _Wait. I could've… I could've given it to Naruto!!! AUGH!!!!!!!!!!_ My head dropped on the table and I groaned. _I'm so stupid!!!_ All I could do now was wait.

[][][]

"Ok. Now I we will begin the tenth question." I picked my head up and looked at Ibiki. "Before we start however, I'd like to go over the added rules for this question." The door opened, interrupting Ibiki-san and Kankuro walked in. "Heh. Nice timing. Was that doll helpful? Just sit down. I'll now explain these rules. For this first question, you must decide whether you will take it or not." _Huh?_

"Choose?! What happens if we choose not to?" _Obviously fail._

"If you choose not to then your points will be reduced to zero and you will automatically fail, along with your teammates."

"What the hell?!? Then of course we'll take it!"

"And now… The other rule. If you choose to take it and answer it incorrectly… That person will lose their rights to ever take the Chuunin Exam again!"

"What kind of stupid rule is that?!? There are guys here who've taken the exam before!" Kiba shouted. Ibiki chuckled.

"You guys were unlucky. This year, it's my rules. But I'm giving you a way out. Those that aren't confident can choose not to take it and try again next year. Now let's begin the tenth question. Those that do not wish to take it, raise your hand. Once your number is confirmed, leave." Several hands after the first came up and a lot of teams backed out. _I won't raise my hand. I won't._ I thought to myself, staring at the back of that red-eyed person. _Can't fail here._ I saw Sakura start to raise her hand and gaped. _No way. Sakura… dammit! Don't…! _She lowered her hand when Naruto raised a shaky hand. _Gah! Naruto, not you too!!! _Instead of calling out his number, he slammed his hand down on the desk.

"Don't underestimate me!!! I'm not gonna run!!!" He shouted. The nervous air around started calming down and you could tell that everyone's confidence raised thanks to Naruto. "I'll take it! Even if I'm a Genin forever! I'll become Hokage anyways so I don't care!!! I am not afraid!!!" He sat down and gave a hard look at a surprised Ibiki.

"I'll ask you again. Your life is riding on this decision. This is your last chance to quit."

"I won't turn back on my words. That's my ninja way." I couldn't help but smile, glad that someone like Naruto was on my team. Looking over at Sasuke, he sighed in relief.

"Good decisions. Now to everyone still remaining…" We all gulped. "Congratulations on passing the first test!"

"Wait… What do you mean? We already pass? What about the tenth question?" Sakura asked. Ibiki grinned.

"There was no such thing. Or you could say that those two choices were the tenth question."

"Hey!!! Then what were the first nine questions for?!? They were pointless then!"

"They were not pointless. They already served their purpose. To test you individual information gathering ability. That was the purpose."

"Information gathering?..." She echoed.

"First, as the rules for this test were explained, success on this test is based on the whole team doing well. His puts pressure on each team member to not mess things up for the rest of their teammates. But the questions were not the types that any Genin could answer. Because of that… I'm sure most people here came to the same conclusion. That "to score points, I'll have to cheat." Basically, the premise of this test is to cheat. As cheating targets, we had three Chuunins who knew all of the answers mixed into the crowd to help you guys out." Three guys raised their hands and in front of one of them, there wasn't a paper. "But to those that cheat carelessly fail." Ibiki took the bandana off his head and revealed several horrible scars on his head. "Because in times… information is more important than life." I gulped. "On missions and on the battlefield, people risk their lives to get it." I shivered at the thought of why he wore gloves and that long coat on top of everything else. He put his bandana back on. "If the enemy or third party notices you, there is no guarantee that the information will be accurate. I want you to remember this. Important information in your hands can be a powerful weapon for your comrades and for you village. So we had you gather information through cheating. This clearly separated those that didn't have those abilities." He finished.

"But I don't understand the final question." Temari said.

"The tenth question was the true purpose of this test. The tenth question… 'take it' or 'do not take it' decision. They were both painful choices. Those who chose the latter fail along with their teammates. Those who choose to take it could lose the chance to ever take it again. A true leap of faith. How about these two choices. Imagine you all are Chuunin. You mission is to steal a secret document. The amount of enemy ninja, their rank and abilities are unknown. And of course, there are traps. Now, do you accept it or not? Because you don't want to die… because you don't want your comrades hurt… can you avoid the dangerous mission?" He paused. "The answer is no! No matter what the danger, there are missions that you can't avoid. The ability to be courageous and survive any hardship… this is the ability to become a Chuunin captain. Those who can't put their lives on the line… who always cling to the uncertain future of 'there's always next year' and then walk away from their chance… Those pieces of trash who can only make such cowardly choices… don't have the right to become Chuunin! That's how I feel! Those who choose to take it answered the tenth question correctly. I believe that you will be able to pass through any troubles you will face in the future. You have made it through the entrance, the first test of the Chuunin Exams is now finished. I wish you guys luck." Naruto jumped up.

"Hell yeah!!! We passed!" He cheered happily. He turned around and gave a thumbs up to me and I returned it, grinning over such an awesome friend. The window broke when some thing flew in, kunai pinning a large canvas to the back wall. "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!?" Naruto asked wide-eyed at the woman standing in front of us.

"You guys! This is no time to be celebrating!" This lady looked like a Naruto… "I am the proctor for the second test! Mitarashi Anko, now let's go!" She shouted, raising an arm. Ibiki poked through the side.

"Bad timing…" She made a strangled sort of noise and lowered her hand, counting the heads in the room.

"79?!? Ibiki, you left 26 teams?!? The test was way too easy this time!"

"There were a lot of outstanding ones this time."

"Bah. That's fine. I'll cut down at least half of them in the next test. I'll explain everything once we've moved to the next area. Follow me." I stood up and regrouped with Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke. Felt good to walk around after sitting down through that.

We stopped at an eerie looking place where the trees and vine were overgrown and howls could be heard, along with the shrieking of other creatures. _This is… the Second Exam…_


	9. Chapter 08

**(UCHIHA) .:[Until Death Do Us Part]:. (SASUKE) – 08**

We stood outside the gates to the forest of death. The fence was high and the roots of the trees were even higher than the fences. I looked up and gave a low whistle. Above, a bird was in mid-caw when it was silenced, a low growl echoing through the grounds. The gates on the fences were held shut with several locks and chains. On the fence was a sign that read, "Danger! Stay out!".

"Welcome to the stage of the second test. Practice arena 44, also known as the forest of death. You'll soon find out why it's called the forest of death." Anko said seriously. Naruto huffed and shook his ass with his hands on his hips.

"'You'll soon find out why it's called the forest of death.'" He mocked. "You think that scares me? That's nothing! I'm not afraid!!!" He shouted, pointing at her. Anko looked our way and smiled.

"You're spirited…" She took out a kunai and tossed it, scratching his cheek. As the kunai flew, she moved behind him and licked the blood off creepily. "Kids like you die quickly. Spraying that red blood I love…" _Omg, what a creeper!_ What was even creepier was the guy that held out her kunai with his tongue.

"Here's your kunai." He whispered.

"Thanks." She said happily. I shivered and took a step back, bumping into Sasuke. He gave a look that said he was thinking the same thing about those two. Naruto had a look of total disgust on his face, along with being scared shitless. "But you know… Don't sneak up behind me unless you want to die." She said, letting go of Naruto and taking her kunai back.

"I just get excited when I see blood. Plus you cut my precious hair… I couldn't help it." I covered my eyes, Anko and that guy being too much to have to look at.

"Sorry about that." Naruto was sticking his tongue out as if measuring how long his was compared to that guy. "Looks we have a lot of blood thirsty ones in this test. Hehe… this should be fun." Naruto rubbed his cheek as Anko was chuckling. "Now before we start the second test, there's something I have to pass out." She held up a stack of paper. "You have to sign these consent forms to continue. There will be deaths in this one. And if you don't sign these forms, it'll be my responsibility." She said with a smile on her face. "I'm going to explain the second test, and then you can sign the forms. After that, each team will head over to that table and check in with me." She said, pointing to a booth that had a cover over it. "I'll now explain the second test. Simply put… You will attempt the ultimate survival test. First, I'll explain the area in which this will take place." She took out a scroll and unrolled it and held it up. There was a picture of a circle with a tower in the middle. There were 44 gate entrances and from the tower to the gates were 10 kilometers around. There was a river and near the south east part, it split into two. The river passed through the tower so we could follow the river but there would be more danger in doing that. "Around practice area 44 are 44 locked gates. Forest, river, and the tower in the center. From the gates to the center is about 10 kilometers." She said loud enough for the people who couldn't see the clearly marked map to hear. "During the survival in here, you will be asked to complete a certain task. Using your many weapons and jutsus, you will compete in a no-rules scroll battle."

_Scroll battle?_ Someone echoed my thoughts and asked.

"Yes. You will be competing over these scrolls. There are 79 people here, meaning 26 teams. Half, 13, teams will get the Heaven scroll." She held out a cream colored scroll labeled 'Heaven'. "And the other half will get the Earth scroll." She held out in her other hand a dark colored scroll labeled 'Earth'. "To pass this test, your team must make it to the tower with both scrolls."

"So 13 teams will definitely fail… That's half the teams." Sakura said.

"But there's a time limit. This second test will last 120 hours. Exactly five days."

"Five days?!?" Ino shouted.

"What about food?!?" Chouji yelled, already chomping down a bag of chips.

"You're on your own. The forest is full of edible and non-edible foods. Just watch out for man-eating beasts, poisonous insects, poisonous plants…" She trailed off. "And 13 teams passing is not likely. As the days go on, the distance to the goal will become farther and the time to rest will be shorter. And with the area crawling with enemies, you won't get much time to sleep. So not only will some fail by losing the scroll… but some will die from the harshness of the course." _Why does it seem like she doesn't really care about us… _"Now I'll talk about how you can get disqualified. First, those that don't make it to the tower with both scrolls, within the time limit. Second, those who lose a teammate or those who have a teammate killed. As a rule, there is no quitting in the middle, you will be in the forest for five days. And one more rule. You must NOT look in the scrolls until you make it to the tower."

"What if we do?" Naruto asked.

"That's a surprise for those that do. A Chuunin will be asked to handle classified information. This is to test your trust-worthyness. That is it for the explanations. Exchange the 3 forms for a scroll then choose a gate and get ready for the start. A final word of advice. Try not to die." She walked away and sat down near the booth eating dango.

[][][]

"You can turn your forms in now." The Chuunin behind the cloth said at the booth. Several teams hurried to line up. We lined up and got a Heaven scroll, deciding to let Sasuke hold it. We chose gate 12.

"Everyone follow an instructor and go to your gates! We will start in 30 minutes!" Anko shouted. We followed ours and he took off the chains and locks, and stood between the gate and us.

"The second test of the Chuunin Exam… starts NOW!" All around, you could hear the dashing footsteps or teams running. First screams were heard not even five minutes in. We were stopped in a clearing but stood by the trees.

"That was a human scream, wasn't it?..." Sakura asked, shaking. "I'm getting a little nervous…"

"It's nothing Sakura-chan." Naruto said with his arms crossed behind his head. He paused with a weird look on his face. "I gotta take a piss…" He said and walked over to a bush. Sakura hit him on the head.

"What are you doing in front of a lady?!? Go in the bushes!" He stumbled away and came back out a while later, everything about him off. My eyebrow twitched and I flicked a kunai in front of his feet. 'Naruto' stopped and looked at the kunai and didn't have time to react to Sasuke's fist to his face.

"What are you…?"

"Where's the real Naruto?"

"What are you saying all of a sudden?..." 'Naruto' asked, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth.

"You dumbass. If you're going to copy someone, do it right." I said, getting in stance.

"Your shuriken holster is on your left side, Naruto's right handed. And the main difference is that you don't have that scratch that proctor put on Naruto's cheek. You're a fake loser who's worse than Naruto at henge no jutsu." 'Naruto' stood up and poofed into his real form, a Rain nin.

"Unlucky! You figured it out! Which one of you has the scroll?" He asked. Shoving my hand in my kunai pouch, I transformed a blank scroll into the heaven scroll and pulled it out, holding it in front of me. His eyes locked on me and Sasuke had a look of worry and confusion on his face. I mouthed to him 'go find Naruto and take Sakura'. He nodded and motioned for Sakura to follow him. She gave a last glance at me before following him. While the rain nin was looking at them run, I got out a wire with a weight on the end and swung it around, lightning running through it. The rain nin saw the blue flowing around the wire and jumped but I caught his ankle and dragged him down, shocking him. He sputtered on the ground for a while and thinking he was out of it, I pulled the wire back and he got up, dashing off to where Sasuke and Sakura went off to.

"Hey!!!" I shouted and ran after him. I caught up to him and kicked him in the back. He flew forward and landed on the floor. Before I landed on him with my knee in his neck, he jumped up to get elbowed in the gut by Sasuke. He did more than just elbow him. In his left hand, he held a kunai which was driven forward more by his right hand. Blood covered Sasuke's face.

"Sasuke-kun…!" Sakura said, shocked he would do that. _This isn't a game Sakura. Life or death in this test._

"This is rough, but I don't have a choice! Don't just stand there, there might be others! Listen! Relax for a moment and you might die!" While Sasuke was yelling at Sakura, the guy leapt away. Squinting, Sasuke only hit his left arm. When everything calmed down, we sat in the clearing, Sakura had wiped off the blood on Sasuke's face, something I would have rather done…

"If we get separated next time… Even if it's one of us, don't trust them. This could happen again."

"Then what do we do?" Sakura asked.

"We'll make a codeword just in case. Listen, if they get the codeword wrong, assume they are the enemy no matter what they look like. Listen carefully, I'll only say this once. The nin song, "Nin Machine". When this is asked, reply with, 'A large amount of loud enemies is the friend of the shinobi, hide and remain silent. A shinobi must understand the proper time, when the enemy is tired and ill-prepared.'" He finished. _Um… What?... A large amount of loud enemies is the friend of the shinobi… and then?!?_

"Ok!" Sakura said, smiling.

"Wait… That's impossible to remember…" Naruto said.

"Are you stupid? I already memorized it!"

"Not everyone has a huge forehead." I said, crossing my arms. Sasuke stood up and tucked the scroll away after a while of re-discussing who would hold it.

"I'll hold the scroll." A hard gust of wind blew by, throwing sticks that scratched when they passed us. "More enemies?!?" I had to close me eyes from being blinded and felt myself picked up by the wind.

"Shit!" I flew back until I hit a tree, the wind knocked out of my chest and I blacked out. _Fuck! Do not… pass out… Wake… up..!_

[][][]

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I shook awake and ran over to the scream, wobbly from the blood that rushed up to my head.

"Sa… Sasuke?" He was on the floor, Sakura was holding him crying and Naruto was pinned to a tree a few yards away from the branch they were on. "Sakura? What… what happened?" Her head snapped to me.

"Password." She said, still holding onto Sasuke and a kunai in her left hand. I gulped and walked over to her.

"I can't remember." I kicked her shoe to try to shrug off this atmosphere. "So stop acting like a baby cause you and me are gonna have to take of them." She sniffled and nodded. I jumped over to Naruto, using chakra in my feet to keep me on the tree and pulled the kunai out from his jacket and hauled him over to the open space in a tree Sakura found. We laid Naruto and Sasuke down and she set towels on their foreheads. I sat next to Sasuke, her next to Naruto. Her face was tear streaked and dirty, her usually perfect hair matted with dirt. I reached up and untied the ribbons and tied my hair back up in pigtails so there was a loop so that they weren't so long. (If you don't get what I'm trying to say then think about how you put your hair in pigtails. Cuz you have to pull your hair through a scrunchie and on the last time you pull it through, don't pull it all the way. But I guess it only works with really long hair. Like waist/hip length. So I'll try to find pics or something but I can't take pics of my hair cuz I lost my camera D=)

I had taken the night shift and Sakura was sleeping curled up in between Naruto and Sasuke. The sun hit my face and even though I didn't want to, I woke Sakura up. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. When I was sure she was awake, I closed my eyes to go to sleep but opened them when I heard her throw a kunai. Squinting my eyes, I saw the explosive note on the squirrels' back. I took out a kunai and crawled closer to the opening of the tree. "Sakura, get ready for a fight." She gulped and was shaking. _This'll be good for her to actually get some fighting experience._

"Up all night?" I darted my eyes to the three Sound nin from the first test. My eyelids were dropping and it was getting harder to stay awake. "That's no longer necessary. Wake up Sasuke-kun. We want to fight him." I slapped myself to wake up and it worked.

"What are you talking about!? I know that someone names Orochimaru is pulling the strings from the shadows!! What's his purpose?!?" Sakura yelled and took out a kunai. "What's this weird mark on Sasuke-kuns neck?!? You did this to him… And now you want to fight!??"

"Man… I wonder what that guy is thinking. But hearing this, we can't let you go. I'll kill these two girls and that Sasuke guy." _God dammit. Didn't get a little time to sleep and now I have to kick ass?!? _Popping a couple chakra pills in my mouth, I activated the Zetsumeigan.

"Wait, Zaku." Dosu said.

"You're not very good. A recently overturned stone, different colored dirt. Grass doesn't grow here." Sakura and I feigned to be surprised. "A booby trap. It's pointless unless it goes unnoticed." He said, lifting up a square of grass. I smirked and made the handseal, the explosion only big enough to throw them in the air and get a few scratches. Sakura cut the wire that held up a giant log and it flew towards them.

"Another trap from above?!?" Dosu said, faking to be scared. From where I was sitting, I couldn't see what he did but the log burst into pieces.

"What the hell?!? It was hollow?!?" I yelled. The three were going to land in front of Sakura and I shoved her to the side and got ready to fight a 3-on-1 fight. Then out of nowhere, Lee's attack came and he stood there with a squirrel on his shoulder.

"You guys should work harder." The three were kicked away from each other and far from our opening in the tree.

"Who are you?"

"The beautiful green beast of Konoha… Rock Lee!" Sakura wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Why are you here?"

"I will… always appear when you are in trouble." I saw her smile to herself.

"Well… you saved me." She said shyly.

"I said it before. That I will protect you until I die." I huffed.

"Hey, Sakura. If I were you, I'd give up on Sasuke and go with this guy." I whispered behind my hand. She pursed her lips at me. "Just saying…"

"Oh well. Zaku, you can have Sasuke-kun." Dosu said, starting to run. "I'll take care of them." Sakura threw a kunai at the ground and Dosu jumped to avoid it but then Lee had reached in the ground and pulled up a giant root.

"There's some tricks to your attacks, right? I'm not simply going to dodge them. Since I've seen your attacks before. But at three against one, I am at a disadvantage." I stood up and walked over next to him.

"Who said it was just you?" I asked annoyed. He looked down at me and I tried imagining the dark spots under my eyes.

"You're in no condition to fight."

"Tch. I'm fine." _What a lie. I'm tired as hell and my eyes sting._ I heard Lee sigh before he attacked Dosu. I was too busy watching Lee to notice the other Sound guy use his attack on the ground, cushioning Dosu's fall.

"Phew. Looks like I made it in time." My eyes snapped to Zaku. When Dosu went to attack Lee, Lee looked like he was in pain or something. I ran over to Lee and shoved him out of the way, still managing to dodge Dosu's attack. But not entirely. I had forgotten about his sound attack and fell crouched on the floor, holding my head. _My head hurts… What's that noise?_ Their mouths were moving but everything sounded muffled. I could read Dosu's lips most of the time. I slapped my cheeks as a sumo wrestler would and activated the Zetsumeigan. _I can fight without sound. No worries…_ Most of Zaku's chakra went along lines in his arms. Instead of Dosu attacking Lee again, he went for Sakura. Lee was fast enough to get in front of her and tried using his attack but he cringed and Dosu was able to knock his leg away. I watched as the chakra came out from that thing on Dosu's arm up to Lee's ear. His mouth was open in a scream and I whipped out a string of wire and threw it so it flew a couple times around Dosu's neck and pulled. Zaku tried coming after me but Sakura threw a couple shuriken which ended up getting blasted right at her. She jumped back was caught by Kin, who was holding her by her hair. My hearing started to clear up a little and I threw Dosu in front of me and used Sento Tokkan in the back of his neck. He fell over on his face, some of his muscles spazzing for a while until he lay still.

"Much more shinier than my hair… If you have time to treat your hair, then train yourself. Zaku, kill that Sasuke guy in front of her. Let's teach her a lesson." I jumped in front of the tree and pulled out a kunai. "Hey girle, I'd move if I were you. Or else I'll kill this girl." Kin held a kunai to Sakura's neck. _"There will be situations in which a teammate gets taken hostage. When the decision comes, someone will die."_ Kakashi-sensei's words rang through my head.

"I'm not gonna let Sasuke or Sakura die so shut up!" I said and made the handseal for Kage Bunshin. Another me appeared and ran to Kin and Sakura. Zaku took this chance to use his attack on me and I flew to the tree, landing on my feet and I used chakra to stick there. I looked over at Kin and Sakura, my clone had poofed and Sakura was holding a kunai.

"That won't work on me." Sakura had a look on her face that said she was going to stop screwing around and smirked.

"What are you talking about?" She whipped the kunai up and cut off the hair that Kin was holding. I stared wide-eyed. Hearing shuriken come at me, I used the Zetsumeigan to alter their course and go to the side and then up. They scratched through the bark beside me before shooting up in the sky.

"Sakura, kick her ass!" I cheered. Sakura had stood up, still holding the kunai and her forehead protector had fallen off when she cut her hair. Sakura made a handseal and Kin rammed her in the back but Sakura turned into a log. With a surprising chain of attacks, Sakura had gotten over to Zaku and lodged a kunai in his arm. In front of my eyes, a dark purple started to float up. I jumped off the tree and saw little trickles of chakra coming out of Sasuke and sighed out of relief. _Good. He's starting to get chakra again._

"Let go of me!" Zaku yelled, punching Sakura in the face. He kept punching her and she still didn't let go. He got her off and before he used his attack on her, the InoShikaChou team jumped in front of her. They had a moment before the ass-kicking started again. Zaku had the nerve to call Chouji a fatass which always got him pissed off. Sakura crawled over to Sasuke and Naruto to get out of their way.

Kin was busy watching them and I ran over to her and punched her hard in the gut, twisting my hips with the punch to get the maximum amount of damage. If I had hit her back, her spine would've probably broken. I jumped away before she barfed and fell over, but fell over when an unsuspected hand grabbed my ankle. I stared at Dosu who was sitting up with a kunai in his hand. Before he brought it down on my neck, a voice stopped them. The kunai stopped when the tip was about a centimeter in, blood trickling down.

"What's with these weak nins bullying a bunch of these second-rate kids and declaring victory." We all looked up and saw Neji and Tenten. "You made a mistake."

"Lee…" I looked over at him. His eyes were closed but he was still breathing.

"That knocked out freak over there is our teammate. You're going to pay for that." The veins around his eyes were visible and I could tell that the Byakugan was strong. "If you go any further, I'll go all out. Huh?" His face showed confusion and the veins relaxed. "It seems that won't be necessary."

"Sasuke-kun!!! You're awake!!!" I looked over with my eyes at Sasuke, not wanting to move my head to slit my own throat. That chakra, now that I could see it in that massive amount, didn't look that great. Along with that, there were weird markings all over his body, crawling up to his face and to the right. "Sasuke-kun…?"

"Sakura… who did that-" He looked over at me and I gulped, turning my eyes away. Dosu was stepping on my hands so I couldn't do anything about that and if I had kicked his head, the kunai would've been driven in more. In less time it takes to blink an eyes, I felt a gust of wind as Dosu was knocked off me and into a tree. The cracking of wood was enough to give that away. I reached up to the wound on my neck and sat up. Sasuke's eyes were dark, the Sharingan on too. I felt myself shiver seeing them.

"I did it." Zaku answered proudly. "I beat that girl up."

"Sasuke-kun… your body…" Sakura muttered.

"Don't worry. Not only that… I feel power overflowing from within me. I feel… great. He gave it to me. I finally understand it. I am an avenger. Even if I must eat the Devils fruit, I am on a path where I must gain power. Now. It was you, right?" He said, glaring at Zaku. The girl woke up, holding her stomach and cringed. I was on the verge of ripping my hair out. That eerie chakra. It didn't belong to Sasuke. It was drifting around, infecting the air like miasma. I scooted away from him to keep from getting touched by a wisp of it. Zaku used his ultimate attack and everything in it's path was blown to bits.

"Heh. I've blown him away."

"Blown who away?" Sasuke knocked him around and then used a fire jutsu. Zaku tried blowing the fireballs out but there were shurikens inside which ripped through him. In a flash, Sasuke was standing over Zaku, holding his arms from behind. "You seem pretty proud of these arms…" He said and pulled on his arms, keeping his foot on Zaku's back. Snaps were heard right before a horrid yell. The look on Sasuke's face was horrible. He was grinning like a manic, as if happy by the screaming and blood. He turned to Kin and Zaku and before he could attack them, I ran over to him, beat by second by Sakura and stopped half-way. She was hugging him from behind, crying into his shirt.

"Stop it!" She yelled. He stopped walking and the marks on his body started to creep back to where they came from. He fell back and Dosu dropped the scroll in front of us, walking over to his teammates and hobbled away with them. I walked over to Sasuke and his breath was ragged. Naruto woke up and Sakura walked over to Lee and Tenten. Sasuke looked up at me with an eyebrow raised.

"D… Don't rely on him or your Sharingan too much." I said and walked away. I walked over to Sakura who was just punched Naruto again. "Hey Lee-kun. Thanks for helping out there. Sorry you got a little beat cause I wasn't paying attention…" I said, rubbing my arm. He smiled and gave a thumbs up, although I could tell that this one was different from the one's he would give Sakura. Sasuke walked over and I turned my head.

"It was nothing. But it looks like I need more hard work. Sasuke-kun. It looks like the Uchiha clan sure is great. To drive off those Sound nins, you are the owner of incredible power. I got my butt kicked." Lee said glumly. Sasuke stared at him as if it was a lie. "The next time we meet, I will be a stronger man. I promise." I looked up at Neji who was standing on a high branch and waved.

"If you just stand up there, a bird is gonna crap on your head." He looked at me and shook his head before jumping down. He, Tenten and Lee went off on their own, as did Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji after Sakura's hair was fixed up. "Ah geez, I'm tired." I said, sitting down back in the hole in the tree. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura came in as well. Sakura held out a canteen full of water and I drank a bit.

[][][]

The next day, I had woken up early. Sasuke was on guard duty and Sakura and Naruto were sleeping.

"I'll be back by noon. Any later than that, assume the worst." I said and dashed out of our hideout next to the river. I used the Zetsumeigan and, just like I was told, there was a bunch of souls floating around. A lot of them were following the river except for this one area where there was a lot of them in one area. Cautiously, after getting a dozen or so from the river, I ran over to the clearing. I coughed and covered my nose, a couple dozen dead bodies rotting over each other. I had gotten the last one when I looked into the canopy and saw chakra focused in the eyes of their user. Next to them looked like it was hollow-ish but had a smoky look to their chakra. The last person in that group was normal but had a small companion. I shrugged when they didn't attack and ran back to my team.

[][][]

I was almost at our hideout place when I was walking around the bushes, my scream was muffled by a hand over my mouth when I was pulled in. Their other arm was wrapped around my waist and they whispered in my ear. "Don't worry, it's just me." I had recognized their voice as Kabuto and nodded, standing on my own feet and turned around when he pulled his hands away. "You shouldn't be walking around on your own." _Ah… Here's another cool guy…_ I shrugged and tucked away the small box in my kunai pouch, not seeing his eyes drift to it and see the mark of Shinigami-sama on it.

"I had some stuff to do." He started walking and motioned me to follow. I did and kept an eye out, just in case this was a lame ambush.

"You're one of Shinigami's koins, aren't you?" He asked.

"Yeah… How do you…?" He turned his head and held up a card with a smile on his face. "Oh." _Hey… That's kind of creepy though… _He stopped and I bumped into his back. "Oof! Sorry!" He grabbed my hand and poofed somewhere, my head spun for a moment. He was holding the scroll closed, Naruto's finger threatening to open it.

"You shouldn't do that… Did you forget the rules?" He said seriously, giving Naruto a sharp look. Sasuke came back from wherever he went and ran at Kabuto. Well I guess I would too if two of my teammates' hands were grabbed and the guy had a serious look on his face. I saw him and swept him off his feet, catching his head on my other leg to keep him from a hard fall.

"Geez Sasuke, calm down a bit." He huffed and got up.

[][][]

We put out the fire and stood around the wet logs. "What were you thinking?" Sasuke scolded Sakura and Naruto after hearing about them about to open the scrolls.

"That was close."

"S-sorry…" Sakura said softly.

"Those that ignore the rules are put in a condition that forces retirement. In a previous exam, a hypnotism jutsu was set up and whoever opened the scroll would be knocked out." Kabuto explained. Sasuke turned to me with his arms crossed.

"And you." While they were explaining what they were about to do, they told him that Kabuto and I had came at the same time. "What were you doing so early in the morning. And with him too."

"I had business to take care of." I answered, looking up at the clouds.

"What kind of business?"

"I can't tell you that."

"Why not?"

"He told me not to tell." I saw Sasuke's eyes flicker to Kabuto for a second then back to me.

"Who?"

"I can't tell you…"

"…" It seems Sasuke gave up and shook his head at me. "By the way, you're Kabuto, right?" He asked turning to him. "What are you doing over here?"

"It's not like I'm after your scroll." He replied.

"Yeah I figured. If you wanted to, you could've taken it from Naruto. So you're after the Heaven scroll too." Kabuto shook his head.

"Nope. I already have both." He said and took out the two scrolls. "Something happened so I'm on my way over to meet my teammates at the tower. Well, I'll be going." He said and walked off a bit.

"Wait!" Sasuke yelled. Kabuto stopped and turned around. "Fight me."

"Fight?" Kabuto asked. There was a glare over his glasses which made it impossible to see his facial expression.

"S-Sasuke-kun! What are you saying? He just helped us out!"

"You're serious?" Kabuto asked, ignoring Sakura.

"Sorry… but we don't have any more time left." Sasuke stated. "We don't have a choice. I said it before. This is the only way for us to-"

"Nu-uh." I said crossing my arms. Everyone looked at me and I held my hands up in defense. "if you think about it, there should be more groups waiting closer to the tower so there's a likely chance to find them around there." _Actually, I just don't want to fight Kabuto-kun… Haha… _

"She's right. And you aren't as cold-hearted as you say Sasuke. If this test had really turned you into someone like that then why would you have asked to challenge me instead of just attacking? That's a ninja." He turned. "Following the plan Arashi-chan said, I'll tell you the path you should take. But I'll tell you as we move. The smoke and the smell of fire and the fish can be sensed from far away. Wild beasts and enemies could be on their way over here already." I looked around before following him.

[][][]

We were jumping through the trees at a pretty fast rate. "Are there really more enemies?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes, no doubt it. The smartest fighting technique in this large area is to stay put by the tower with an ambush ready. So on the last day, the easiest place to find a scroll is near the tower."

"So basically we go after a team that has both scrolls and is heading for the tower!" Sakura said. _No. If we did that, then we could take Kabuto-kuns. Which we won't! Grr… _

"You're one-third correct."

"Huh?"

"I mean that you aren't the only ones thinking that. There could be others that have already set up traps."

"I see! So there are already tons of enemies waiting to ambush us near the tower! Hah! This is more exciting with that possibility!" Naruto yelled. "Bring it on! We'll kick their asses and pass the second test!"

"Kabuto-san, what's the remaining two-thirds?"

"People I call 'collectors'. Even though the tower is right in front of them, they continue fighting to get more scrolls in case they run up against a strong group and need to hand something over to get away. Or those that try to receive and favor information by delivering an extra scroll to them to a team from their own village. Or… those that want to pick off more teams while in a disadvantage to ensure an easier time during this test. You should realize without me telling the ones that are strong and confident in their abilities are the worst possible enemies."

"I see… I finally understand why you came out in front of us." Sasuke said. "It's because you're afraid too."

"Exactly."

"Or you could be trying to scrape up information on us." I said, not forgetting that just cause he's a little cute, he's still an enemy. "Right?" I asked and looked over at Kabuto. He pushed his glasses up and smiled.

"Well my cards aren't complete, so two birds with one stone, I guess you could say."

[][][]

"We can finally see the tower." We had stopped on a rocky ledge, the tower looking pretty far but not impossible to reach in the time limit. "We have to be more careful from here on."

"Alright! Let's go!!!" Naruto shouted. We all turned hearing a twig snap and Naruto was the first to throw a kunai. "There!!!" There was a splash of blood and a squishing noise. The kunai had pinned a giant centipede to a tree, it's legs wiggled for a little while.

"Naruto-kun… I'd like us to avoid unnecessary actions and noises from here on. Moving through the forest like an elephant will only tip off our enemies. And they don't have a fun welcome party waiting for us. From this point on… let's move slowly and carefully. Arashi-chan, if you would." I nodded and activated the Zetsumeigan and popped a few chakra pills. I tilted my head and looked around.

"Does this forest give off chakra?..."

"A bit." He answered.

"Then I don't think I'd be of any help." I said sighing and deactivating it. "There's not enough light to differentiate where the chakra is coming from unless my target is this close to me." I said, holding out my arms. He sighed and I felt a bit sad about letting them all down.

"Well then, let's all be careful."

[][][]

"I can't go on…" Sakura said, leaning against a tree.

"Sakura-chan?!" Naruto asked in a hushed voice.

"How long have we been walking? We aren't getting closer to the tower at all…" She said. I ran forwards a bit and saw that it was in the same place as before."

"It seems like… They've already welcomed us." Kabuto said. "See that?" He said, pointing.

"That's…! No way!" Naruto said. Pinned to the tree was the same centipede we should've passed hours ago. "Wh-what's going on?!?"

"Genjutsu?" Sasuke asked under his breath.

"Looks like… We've already fallen into their trap. Seems they've taken advantage of our worries and made us walk around in circles."

"They're watching us." Sasuke said, looking through the corner of his eyes.

"They probably plan to tire us out and use that opportunity to get is." I groaned.

"Then it's going like they planned…"

"Then in that case, they should be about ready to attack." Sasuke stood in front of Sakura, something that made me want to beat the enemies up even more. Everyone looked exhausted. My feet hurt… There were a lot of enemies and were most likely clones. "There's a lot of them!" I activated the Zetsumeigan, despite how low I already was on chakra.

"Clones?!?"

"Heh. It'll be more fun with a handicap."

"You're trapped now, you little rats." Naruto started to attack them pointlessly. When he punched one, it split in half and another clone was made. One of the clones got behind him and his back was turned to us.

"Naruto-kun!" I threw a couple shuriken but they were caught in the clones arm and when he swung his arm back, they came whizzing back to me. I couldn't move and the Zetsumeigan turned itself off. "Oh shit…"

"What are you doing?!" Kabuto yelled and swept my left leg from under me to push me to the ground. His left shoulder got cut and blood dripped down on my cheek.

"S-sorry…" He got up and helped me up. "I guess its no more chakra for me for now…"

"Does the fact that Kabuto-san got hurt mean they're shadow clones?! But shadow clones disappear when hit. But these don't! Shadow clones or genjutsu?! Which is it?!?" Naruto yelled, still fighting them off.

"Don't! It's useless!" Sasuke screamed. "They're illusions. This is the enemies genjutsu."

"B-but Kabuto-sans wound is real."

"No. Sasuke-kun is correct. The enemy is most likely hiding somewhere and matching their attacks with the movements of the fake shinobis. So that will make it seem like the illusions are attacking." Kabuto explained. I got out a roll of bandages and quickly wrapped it around his shoulder. I got out a lollipop from my kunai pouch and stuffed the wrapper back in. _Cool. Strawberry flavor. _

"Arashi-chan, what are you doing eating candy right now!" Sakura said.

"I need anything to get more chakra. And we're all out of pills right now."

"Then let's find the idiots throwing the kunais and kick their asses!" Naruto said, determined as always.

"But… This confuses where the kunai's are coming from and prevents us from accurately locating where the enemy is at. Which was exactly what they planned to do. They're the type that prefer long range attacks and are weak at Taijutsu and close-range fighting. The real enemy… won't reveal themselves until we can no longer move. At lease for now, we can dodge their attacks!"


	10. Chapter 09

**(UCHIHA) .:[Until Death Do Us Part]:. (SASUKE) - 09**

"Ahhh!!! There's no end to this!" Sakura yelled.

"Then I'll do this…!" Naruto made the handseal for kage bunshin.

"Stop, Naruto-kun! Don't waste your chakra! Attacking them is pointless!" Kabuto said. Naruto was already shaking from having to move around by dodging so much.

"If we defeat all of the illusions at once, then while they're returning to normal then the enemy can't throw kunais, cause they'll be found!" Naruto yelled before doing Kage Bunshin. The enemy countered by making more bunshins.

[][][]

"Ugh. It's over…" Naruto said, skidding to the ground in front of us.

"Heh. That's enough Mubi."

"The sun is coming up. It's time for the kill…"

"Hehe… Their spirit is already dead. Only their bodies remain. Lucky!" The enemies came out and it was the rain nin from before that had transformed into Naruto. "You. You're the guy who got my shoulder. I've finally found you." He pulled out a kunai. "Making things so difficult… Lucky! I can return the favor!" The real us came out from the bushes behind the enemy.

"You're trapped rats."

"It went perfectly Naruto!" Sakura yelled, holding up a fist in success.

"Them?!? How!" The rain nin screamed, turning around. The four clones disguised as us poofed and Naruto sat there.

"Idiots! We finally got you by the tails! Bastards!!!" He stood up. " The kage bunshin was just a trick! It was a diversion while I became the whole team!"

"The moment Naruto released the jutsu, the three of us hid. You genjutsu users got a taste of your own medicine." Sasuke said coolly. Naruto fell on his knees from using so much chakra. "Naruto. You've used too much chakra. I'll take it from here." Sasuke got ready to attack them but Naruto came and punched all of them, thankfully they were in a line.

"I'm damn sick you always taking the best parts." Naruto said to Sasuke, holding a fist up. Sasuke was looking at him surprised.

"You're pretty lucky… But we're not done yet." The rain nin got up and made handseals. "There's a little time left. Now we'll show you our ninjutsu!" They used mist clone technique but they were just regular bunshins. Naruto fell over again and I walked over to him and pulled him up, dropping him next to Sakura.

"Naruto-kun, I'm kinda pissed they took up so much of our time. Let me handle this?" I asked and he nodded. We knocked fists and I stood up with the Zetsumeigan on, taking a nap while waiting for the enemy to show up last night let enough chakra to build up for this. When I looked over at the mass of clones and gaped. "Sasuke-kun, this is…"

"Yeah. You can't find the real one through them." He said after activating Sharingan. "Ugh!"

"Sasuke-kun, please stop using Sharingan!" Sakura yelled. I turned around and saw Sasuke crouching on the floor, something dark wiggling across his shoulder. _The cursed mark again?..._

"You shouldn't create openings!" My head snapped up and I threw a kunai but it was an illusion so I relaxed until Kabuto tackled me to the side. We landed next to each other and he was holding a cut on his leg.

"Kabuto-kun? They're just normal clones so why can they attack!" Another clone was in the air above us and I took a kunai out to block.

"Behind you!" Kabuto and I turned around. I saw the three rain nins coming out of the ground holding kunais and Kabuto get cut across the face, his glasses flying off. The nins stopped motionless and were shaking. I took that opportunity to attack. I jumped over Kabuto and landed on my hands and twisted, kicking the one on the right in the head. He flew into the other guy and him into the last one. They tumbled over into a tree, one of the guys masks came off and blood spilled from his mouth. I pulled out another lollipop and stuck it in my mouth. _Strawberry is beast flavor. Lol._ Kabuto managed to sit up and rubbed the back of his head.

"Thanks Arashi-chan."

"Woo! Go Arashi-chan!" Naruto yelled, pumping a fist in the air. I got Kabuto's glasses and handed them to him and helped him up. Sasuke was still on the floor and I walked over, holding a hand out. The mark had stopped spreading but it was up to his neck by now.

"What is that? An injury? It looks horrible." Kabuto said, suddenly beside me. Sasuke saw me looking as well and covered it up, putting his hand over his neck.

"It's nothing."

"I found it! I found it!!!" Naruto yelled. I ran over to him and looked at where he was pointing. "It's the Heaven scroll!" I grinned and picked it up and spun around with Naruto laughing.

[][][]

We made it to the tower and two guys were standing there. "You're late Kabuto." _Aah, Kabuto-kuns teammates._

"Sorry about that. We ran into some trouble." He replied.

"But, but! Thanks to you, we got the scroll!" Naruto said.

"No, it was because of you guys. You were great at the end, Naruto-kun." Both of our teams were walking around the tower until we stopped at a door. "We're going through this door. Good luck to both of us!"

"Yeah!" Naruto said crossing his arms behind his neck. I was looking at Naruto and almost laughed at how beat up he was but still managed to stay cheerful as ever. I was smiling, thinking to myself that he really could be the next Hokage, if he quit all his pranks that is. My smiling face turning into confusion when Kabuto leaned down and kissed my forehead. _What the hell. I'm not a little kid!_ He walked back with his teammates and waved. Naruto and I waved back and I could sense some killing intent from behind me. I turned my head slowly and saw Sasuke glaring at the door. He saw me looking at him and huffed and turned around.

"Let's go already." He said agitated.

[][][]

We got to a door and broke the seal opening it and walked in. "No one's here…" Looking around, Naruto was right. The only thing was a poster thing on the wall in front of us. "What should we do?"

"Hey, look at that." Sakura said, pointing to the poster.

"Without Heaven… What the hell does this mean?" Naruto asked growling in frustration.

"It looks like there's missing words here." Sakura said, pointing to a blank space. "This is probably about the scrolls. It think it's telling up to open them." Naruto handed me Heaven and he and I opened them at the same time. I blinked when I recognized the pattern.

"Naruto, it's a summoning scroll, toss it!" I yelled and threw mine towards the door. He threw his and they landed over each other. "Hey, It's Iruka-sensei!"

"Hey." He said with his arms crossed. "Long time no see."

"What's going on?!?" Sakura yelled. Iruka eyed us over.

"It looks like you guys had a rough time."

"Huh? Why was Iruka-sensei summoned?!?" Naruto asked, a confused look on his face.

"At the end of the second test, it's set up so that we Chuunins meet up with the exam takers. And I was allowed to be the one to greet you." He pulled out a watch and checked it. "Phew. Just in time, you guys! The second text of the Chuunin Exams… You all pass. To celebrate your successful completion of the second test, I'd like to buy you a round of ramen but…" He trailed off. Naruto was grinning like a fool beside me and jumped on Iruka.

"We did it!!!"

"Hey, Naruto, listen to the end…" He stopped trying to quiet Naruto down when all he did was yell 'We did it!' over and over again.

"Heh. I see." We all turned to Sasuke. "If we had opened the scrolls during test… What were you going to do, sensei?"

"As always, you're sharp, Sasuke." Iruka leaned down and held up one of the scrolls. "As you may have figured out, this test's rules are set up to test your ability to perform missions properly. So if you were to break these rules and open the scrolls…" Sakura still looked confused. "Those exam takers would be put in a condition of unconsciousness for the remaining of the test period. Those were my orders." He finished.

"Heh. Good thing you guys didn't open it." Sasuke said to Sakura and Naruto. They looked relieved that they didn't.

"Oh, right! Sensei, what's the meaning of the writing on the wall?" Sakura asked, pointing to it.

"Who cares? We passed!" Naruto yelled. I grinned and highfived him.

"Ahh… no. I'm actually here to explain that too." Iruka said, looking apologetic. "Read it. This is the motto of the Chuunin written by Hokage-sama. The 'Heaven' in this refers to the mind and the 'Earth' refers to strength. If you lack heaven, seek wisdom. So that's basically Naruto's weakness in the brain. Gain knowledge and prepare yourself for the missions. If you lack earth, run in the field and seek advantages. So if Sakura's weakness is stamina, it's saying to continue working hard. If you have both heaven and earth, you can succeed in the most dangerous mission." He turned back to the poster and pointed to a line. "Do you see this?"

"You mean that line?" Naurto asked raising an eyebrow.

"It reads 'Between heaven and earth is lightning and it will harm both the clouds and the trees.' Which is a warning to not abuse your power for wrong things."

"Then… the part for the missing word?"

"The words that represent a Chuunin. The 'person' word from the scrolls go there. The last sentence is 'These rules will guide a persons' extremes'. These five days of survival were to test the exam takers basic abilities needed to become a Chuunin. And you guys successfully pass that. Chuunins are at the rank of a military captain, you have the responsibility of leading a team… the knowledge, stamina, and inner wisdom are needed for your missions. I want you guys to challenge the next step with this Chuunin motto in mind." There was a pause. "But this final test… Don't push yourselves too hard." He sounded a bit… worried? Glum? I can't tell. "Especially you, Naruto. I'm worried about you the-"

"From the moment I got this forehead protector I was no longer an academy student! There's no need to worry! And this is the symbol that I'm all grown up, right?! The part about me never relaxing may not have changed, but I'm not a kid anymore! Now… I'm a ninja." Iruka smiled and looked reminiscent of something.

"I see… I'm sorry Naruto." Naruto grinned and chuckled.

[][][]

The 25 of us that passed stood in five rows. "First off, for the second test, congratulations on passing!" I looked around and all of us rookies passed. Gaaras, Kabutos, Dosu's, and that guy with the red eyes teams passed too. "Hokage-sama will now explain the rules for the third test so listen up!"

"For the coming third test… but before I explain that, there's something I'd like you all to know. It concerns the true reason for this exam. Why do we have all the allied countries taking the exam together? 'To promote friendship among the countries.', 'To raise the level of shinobi'. I don't want you to be confused about the true meaning… this exam is a replacement for war among the allied countries." _Tch. Figured. All that bs about this 'peace by having kids fight' was just a front. Because I doubt any country would like having their Genin killed off in an exam._ "If you back in time… The current allies were enemies who fought each other over who would rule. In order to prevent wasteful fighting, the stage that these countries chose for battle… that is the origin of the Chuunin Exam."

"Why the hell do we have to do that crap?!? Isn't this thing for deciding who would become a Chuunin?!?" Naruto yelled from in front of me.

"It is a fact that this exam decides which shinobi have what it takes to become a Chuunin. But on the other hand, this exam has another side where each counties shinobis risk their own lives to protect their lands prestige. Watching this exam will be leaders and influential individuals from many countries who make up the clients of the shinobi. And the leaders of the countries will also be there to watch each of those battles. If the strength of a country is clear, that country will receive more clients. And conversely, if seen as weak, they will lose clients. This will signal to potential enemies that 'out village had this much power.' So it will send a political message to the outsiders."

"Yeah, but why?!? Why do we have to risk our lives in battle!?!" Kiba shouted.

"The strength of the country is the strength of the village. The strength of the village is the strength of the shinobi. And a shinobi's true strength is… born only through life-risking situations. This exam is a place to see each countries strength and to show off your own strength. It only has meaning because lives are at stake. And that's why those that have come before you have fought in the Chuunin exam for this dream is that meaningful."

"But why do you bother saying stuff like 'its about friendship'?"

"I said it in the beginning. That I don't want you to confuse the purpose of this. By losing life and establishing balance. This is the shape of friendship in the shinobi world. Before we begin the test, I will tell you one more thing. This is not just a test. This is a life-risking battle with your dreams and your countries prestige on the line. I'd like now to explain the third test but actually…" a cough came followed by a person who suddenly appeared in front of us, bowing to Hokage-sama.

"From here on, as the referee, will you please allow me, Gekkou Hayate."

"By all means." Hokage-sama responded. Hayate stood up and faced us.

"Hello everyone. I'm Hayate." He coughed a bit and looked like he should be in a hospital. "Before the third test… something I'd like you to do… Is a preliminary for the… third test to decide who will… who gets to participate in the main event." He managed to say, pausing to cough.

"Sensei… I don't understand this preliminary but why aren't all the people here allowed to participate in the next event?" He coughed again before answering.

"That's because the first and second test may have been too easy this year. We have a bit too many people remaining. According to the Chuunin Exam rules, we must have a preliminary and reduce the number of participants for the third test. As Hokage-sama indicated earlier, there will be many guests at the third test. So the fights could take long and we have a limited amount of time. So anyway… Those that aren't feeling well or those that feel like quitting after those explanations, please come forward now. Since we will be beginning the preliminary immediately."

"What?!? Right now??!" Several people started muttering about the suddenness of this.

"Um… I'm going to quit."

"Kabuto-kun?"

"Kabuto-san…"

"Yakuushi Kabuto from Konoha, correct?" He nodded.

"Me too!"

"A-Ah, me too…" The voices came from a boy and a girl that looked to be twins.

"Fumizuki Kasumi and Shiro from Sound. You two may leave as well."

"Actually, are we allowed to watch the battles?" The girl asked. Hayate turned to Hokage-sama who nodded.

"You may."

"Kabuto-san, why are you leaving?!?" Naruto yelled.

"Sorry, Naruto-kun… But I'm all beat up and actually, I haven't been able to hear out of my left ear since before the first test. And to have to risk my life now, well…" Naruto looked at the ground.

"Hey, who the hell?!?" We looked up from the board that read 'Tenma Arashi vs. Iwahara Hideaki'." I blinked. Naruto nudged me.

"Nice, you got first." I bit down on the candy part of the lollipop and tucked the stick away in my pocket.

"Yeah. But who's that Hideaki person?" I asked, looking around. The only option was that guy with the red eyes.

"Now… there are no more who are going to quit, right?" Hayate asked. Sakura almost made a scene with Sasuke about the cursed mark. "Well then… Let's begin the preliminary matches. These matches will consist of one on one fighting. Since there are exactly 22 contestants here, there will be 11 matches and the winners will advance to take part in the main matches. There are basically no rules. The fight continues until one of you die or give up. If you don't want to die quickly, then just accept defeat. But when I have decided that a winner has been decided, since we don't want to pointlessly increase the amount or corpses, I'll jump in and stop the match myself. That electric scoreboard will display the names of the two contestants. Now let's begin. Um… Those two people whose names are up. Do you want to continue with this match up?"

"Yes." Hideaki said.

"Hell yeah."

"Then will everyone else please move yourselves to the balcony. Those who are not participating in the preliminaries and choose to stay, you go up as well and if you need medical treatment, go out that door." He said, pointing to the one on the left.

"Be careful." Sasuke said, patting my shoulder before moving up with Sakura and Naruto. Naruto gave a thumbs up and ran up the stairs.

Hideaki and I stood in the middle of the arena and I looked up at the balcony in front of me. Naruto was leaning on the railing and Sakura was standing next to Sasuke looking worried. "Ready… Begin!"


	11. Chapter 10

**(UCHIHA) .:[Until Death Do Us Part]:. (SASUKE) – 10**

(Woot! We're in the double digits! Lol. So I think this is a pretty crappy chapter. But I had to rush, sort of, and I'm leaving tomorrow, wont be back till next week so you're gonna hafta wait a long time for an update after this. But it's not my fault! XD So get over it lol And it's kinda hard to type when the meds are tryin to get you to sleep so sry about any mistakes.)

[Third Person POV]

"Begin!" Hayate said, jumping back to get out of the two fighters' way. Arashi jumped back a few feet and pulled out a scroll with the Tenma clan symbol on it and was tied shut with a string.

"Do you mind if I take a few seconds?" Arashi asked to Hideaki.

"I don't see why not." His voice was monotonous. Arashi sat down with her legs crossed and opened the scroll out in front of her, glancing up every now and then to make sure Hideaki didn't attack. She bit down on her thumb and swiped it against the reverse summoning symbol, blood trailing over it in a red line.

"What is she doing?" Naruto asked from above, squinting his eyes to try to get a better look. Sasuke was straining his eyes and grimaced in pain. He grasped the cursed mark and leaned on the railing. Sakura was looking extremely worried about him, praying to herself that Arashi would hurry up and beat that guy. "Arashi-chan?!?" Naruto yelled, pulling Sasuke and Sakura from their thoughts. She was toppled over, looking either dead or sleeping with her head resting on her arm. "Hey! Arashi-chan wake up!!!" Kakashi put a hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"She'll be fine. I don't know what she's doing but Arashi isn't an idiot, Naruto." Naruto took a deep breath and turned his attention back to the two down below. His eyes grazed over Kabuto's figure on the other side of the balcony but didn't wave or anything.

[][][]

"Kabuto-kun, what are your intentions with that girl?" Orochimaru asked him in a hushed tone. To keep Kabuto's identity a secret, they stood away from each other since Kabuto was wearing a Konoha forehead protector and Orochimaru Sound.

"Sasuke-kun seems to be interested in her so she may come in handy later. And besides that, she seems quite strong. Perhaps if things don't work out with Sasuke-kun, she could…" He trailed off and dared to peek out from the corner of his eyes at Orochimaru who had a hard look on his face.

"Sasuke-kun will come to me, Kabuto." Kabuto nodded and pushed his glasses up, leaning on the rail to watch the fight.

[][][]

"Hey, Arashi-chan, what are you doing here? I was in the middle of watching a fight…" The Shinigami said annoyed. He was looking through his demon mirror which was floating in front of him and showed what was happening in the world of the living.

"How am I supposed to use this?" She asked, holding up the same scroll she used to get herself there. The Shinigami turned around and looked up at her.

"Ahh… this. With the amount of favors you have now, you won't be able to use it." She pulled out the small wooden box that held the souls harvested from the second test in it and opened it up. A lot of little glowing orbs floated out and to the Shinigami who chuckled. He counted them off and with the amount there were, he couldn't put them all on the balance right now so he counted them up and had them follow the path lit by the blue flame. "560. That's how many favors you have. But for bringing this many at once, I'll let you use that scroll for free." He ushered her forward and she complied, standing in front of him. "You know what this does, right?"

"Yeah. I read it before I came here."

"Alright then, who's your sacrifice? You can pick anyone as long as they aren't dead."

"I don't know his name but that rain nin from the last fight we were in, in the second test." On the demon mirror, the Shinigami showed the three rain nin getting up and regaining consciousness. "That one." She said, pointing to the one with the spiky hair. Shinigami took the scroll and scratched a few characters on it with his nail.

"Well that's it. Good luck." He said and she nodded, her soul jumping back to her body.

[][][]

She stood up and rolled the scroll up, tied it back up again, and put it away in her kunai pouch.

"Sorry about that."

"It's fine." _He seems so nonchalant about everything. I wonder if he's really serious about this exam. _She took out a few kunai and threw them around him, knocking a kunai off another to aim for his blind spot. He moved his head to the side and it stuck in the ground in front of him. He started throwing kunai and Arashi jumped around to avoid them. He calculated where she would land and started aiming there. Catching on to what he was doing, she had to take more extreme measures to avoid them. Through that, she had made it around to his left side and he hadn't moved from where he was standing at the beginning. "By the way, I'm blind just so you know." _Hah! Like I care, I'll beat your ass anyways! _ She ran at him and they started fighting using Taijutsu.

They had been fighting for who knows how long, just slashing at each other with kunais and launching series of punches and kicks. It seems he got fed up with it and jumped away to the other side. He quickly executed a number of handseals and a large ball of water formed next to him. Out of it poured out massive amounts of water. On the other side of the arena, it had reached to Arashi's feet. She jumped on the top of the statue and watched the rising water. It was dark and you couldn't see anything in it. And when she looked around, Hideaki wasn't anywhere to be seen. Seconds later, a shark jumped up out of the water and bared its teeth at her, its jaw opened wide. She quickly did the handseals. "Tatekaze no Jutsu (Wind Sheild Technique)!" The still air around her picked up and looked like Neji's jutsu (which I can't remember the name of…) and as the shark came at her, the winds ripped it to shreds. Arashi shut her eyes, grossed out by the shark being torn apart by the wind. The jutsu stopped after the tail of the shark went by it. Floating on the water were pieces of flesh and blood made the water darker now. She looked around, hoping there wasn't another shark. She didn't have the chakra needed to keep using Tatekaze no jutsu.

"Arashi, watch out!!!" Sasuke yelled wide-eyed. Her head snapped up and knocked Hideaki's kunai out of his hand with the one she was holding and then jumped back, throwing it into his stomach. Instead of blood, water leaked out and he changed into water, mixing with the pool of it under her feet. Another Hideaki came out of the water and started attacking her. There were six of them now, all of them mizu bunshins. After her footing got messed up, she fell and got beat up for a while. She struggled to keep her head up above the water, one of the bunshins pushing her head down with his foot.

"Get off, dammit!!!" She got a hand on top of the water and grabbed his leg, nails digging into his skin as she pulled him to get herself up. _I can't let everyone see me this weak! And Sasuke… Sasuke's gonna think I'm useless if I don't beat the shit out of this guy!_ The bunshins melted into water on their own except for one and she ran at him. He blocked her punch and the bunshin turned into water. Hideaki was standing behind the clone and held a kunai. He pulled his arm up and slit her throat. Sakura screamed and Naruto threw a fit. Sasuke and Kakashi were too shocked to say anything.

"Look what happens when you're not careful. You went and got yourself killed." He said as she fell back, floating down to the bottom of the floor.

[Arashi POV]

_Come, on, why isn't it working?!?_ I thought angrily. The jutsu was supposed to transfer all of the wounds I got onto that rain nin. It only worked until he died though, and then everything after that would just be on me. _Finally!_ I was able to stand up and the water went all the way up to just under the balcony floor. I swam up and saw Naruto on the balcony, nearly falling off the railing, telling, no. Demanding Hayate not to stop the match. I stood up and pushed my dripping wet bangs out of my eyes.

"Wh-what the hell…"

"Arashi-chan!!!"

"What's with her eyes?..."

"How come she's alive!!!" I couldn't hear any of this but when Dragons Rage starts, the pupils of the users eyes turn into cat-like slits, and of course, still have their red eyes or they wouldn't be able to use it in the first place. The only person I heard and saw was Hideaki. After my sacrifice dies, the jutsu moves onto the second phase which is basically a berserker mode and my target was Hideaki. I could still feel the blood dripping down my neck.

"Tch. 'got myself killed'?" I ran at him and punched him in the face. "Don't fuck with me." He got up and leaned on the railing, holding his broken nose with his other hand. _The jutsu won't end until he's dead._

"I-I give-" I shut him up by sweeping his feet from under him and held his head under the water. _Drown or electrify him?_ I thought that if I used a lightning attack, it'd look cooler so I pulled him back up and used Sento Tokkan to punch him back in the water. From where he landed, sparks flew out and for a second, the lightning running through the water lit it all up. My eyes went back to normal and I just now started to feel the pain from the cuts, bruises, and that cut on my neck. The water drained away and I fell into a sitting position, holding my neck, trying to stop the bleeding.

"The winner of the first match is Tenma Arashi." Hayate announced.

"Arashi-chan!" I heard Naruto yell. "I knew you would wi-"

"You dumbass…" Sasuke said, annoyance and relief written on his face. "You almost died."

"Sasuke, you bastard!" Naruto said, shaking a fist at Sasuke who glared at him. I smiled and waved to them and walked with a team of medic nins who led me into a room and healed my cuts. I felt tired as hell and stared out of the window. I got bored and pulled the needle from my arm and ran out to the arena.

[Third Person POV]

Sakura gulped and stared at the soggy-burnt corpse of Hideaki. "I… I didn't know that Arashi was this scary…" Naruto let out a nervous chuckle.

"Me neither... I don't even know what jutsu she was using at the end…" When they got Hideaki's corpse out of the way, the board revealed the next name.

-Uchiha Sasuke vs. Akado Yoroi- (According to the manga, that's that guys' name lol. I never knew it cept Yoroi)

"Will the two participants please come down?" Sasuke and Yoroi went in the arena and stood in front of each other. "Uchiha Sasuke and Akado Yoroi. Are you ready?" Hayate looked at Arashi which made the two turn their heads to look at her as well. "If you're going to watch…" He trailed off and motioned to the stairs. She quickly ran up them and stood next to Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi.

[Arashi POV]

Sasuke and Yoroi had been fighting for a while and at this point, it seemed like Sasuke was going to lose.

"Sasuke, don't you dare lose!" I yelled at Sasuke from over the railing. He grit his teeth and kicked Yoroi off of him. Naruto threw in his two cents and Sasuke looked at Lee, who was standing next to Naruto, and his eyes widened. The blue glow came back to Yoroi's hand as he rushed at Sasuke.

"You don't have time for sight-seeing!" _This is bad…! If Sasuke get's hit with that guys attack one more time…_ As Yoroi was running at him, Sauske was still sitting on the ground and when he was close enough, he kicked Yoroi up into the air and followed him. It reminded me of when… _No way! Sasuke copied Lee's attack with the Sharingan back then!_

"Through here, I'm going original." Sasuke said, appearing under Yoroi. Yoroi seemed to have recognized the attack, but Sasuke couldn't use Taijutsu as well as Lee. Sasuke cringed as the mark started spreading. I looked at Sakura who was clenching her fists, probably more worried than Sasuke was about it.

"Sasuke, kick his ass!!!" I yelled. His eyes locked with mine and the seal returned. I gave a sigh of relief and saw him smirk as he started his attack. A fake kick with his right leg, which Yoroi blocked helped him spin to kick him with his left. But Yoroi blocked again and thought that was it. When Yoroi was next to him, he backhanded him in the face, sending him plummeting to the floor. Sasuke followed this with a punch to the stomach and spun, making the kick fatal as his foot rammed into Yoroi's stomach. 'Shishi Rendan' was the name of his new attack, lion combo. There was a large crack where Yoroi landed and Sasuke rolled off him stupidly, landing on his stomach with his arms stretched out on front of him. He shakily got up as Hayate checked for a pulse on Yoroi. He got up and announced Sasuke won.

"Yeah!!!" Naruto yelled enthusiastically. Sasuke fell back on his ass and Kakashi appeared behind him with his knee helping Sasuke sit up. "Sasuke! What a lame way to win! You're all beat up you moron!" I laughed and congratulated Sasuke as well. Sakura still seemed scared about the mark, but at least she saw that he could control it.

"Hey, Naruto. You're making those stupid remarks about Sasuke's fight when I died for a moment." He rubbed the back of his head.

"Yeah but I like making fun of Sasuke." He said stupidly.

"Hey, Sasuke! Go get some medical treatment, you're scaring Naruto-kun!" Naruto made a face at me and I pinched his cheeks. Sasuke shook his head, a ghost of a smile stuck on his face.

"Uchiha Sasuke, let the medical team treat your injuries now." A medic nin said.

"That won't be necessary." Kakashi-sensei said. Two others were carrying Yoroi away on a stretcher. "I'll take care of him." He leaned down and whispered something to Sasuke.

"We will now start the next match!" Hayate announced.

"Wait until after the prelims. I want to see the other matches." I heard Sasuke say. Kakashi snapped at him and carried him away.

-Zaku Abumi vs. Aburame Shino- I glanced up at the board and then at the door.

"Oh yeah, Sakura-chan, did you see that weird thing on Sasuke's neck?" Naruto asked. Sakura had told me what it was in the forest after we met up but she said that Sasuke didn't want Naruto to find out.

"I… I also don't know." Sakura answered after a while.

"Then, Arashi-ch… huh?" I had ran down the stairs and slipped through the closing door Kakashi and Sasuke went through. I heard Hayate announce the start of the match before the door silently shut.

The room was large and dark, save for the few candles around Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke. I heard Sasuke sounded in pain but resisted coming out.

"The next time that curse tries to become active, this new seal should contain the power. But… Sasuke, this new seal relies on the strength of your will. If you lose belief in yourself and your will weakens, the curse will become wild again." Kakashi-sensei finished and Sasuke fell over. His breath was ragged and another voice came through the darkness.

"So you can even use the sealing jutsu now… You've grown… Kakashi."

"You are…" _Who?_

"Long time no see, Kakashi-kun."

"…Orochimaru." _That's the guy that put that cursed mark on Sasuke!_

"I'm sorry. But I didn't come here to see _you_ Kakashi-kun. I'm here for the boy behind you."

"Why are you after Sasuke!?" _Aw man… This is not good. Totally NOT good! If a fight breaks out here, the hell am I supposed to do against that guy?!? Sakura said that even Sasuke couldn't beat him!_

"Heh. You're lucky. You've already gotten your hands on it. You didn't have to use it… Did you?" Orochimaru asked. I had no idea what they were talking about and kept quiet. "That. Sharingan is your left eye!" _So he's after Sasuke for the Sharingan?_ "I also want it. The Uchiha blood."

"What are your goals!" Kakashi-sensei demanded.

"The newly created Sound village… That's _my_ village. You should understand from just that."

"Foolish ambition."

"Well, yeah. Something like that. And for that purpose, I need a lot of pieces." _But why did those Sound guys want to kill Sasuke in the forest if Orochimaru, their boss, wants Sasuke alive?_

"So Sasuke is also just one of those pieces."

"No. Sasuke-kun is a very important piece. And those guys taking that test right now… are just my pawns." _Why do I have a feeling that I shouldn't be hearing this…_

"If you get any closer to Sasuke…" Kakashi warned. "Even though you're a sannin… Right now I can at least compete with you." Orochimaru let out a horrible chuckle. "…What's so funny…"

"What you do, what you say… It's all off."

"What?"

"That seal you did is meaningless. You understand that to achieve a goal, the heart will accept the most evil power. That is the type he is. An avenger."

"So you're using that… But Sasuke is-" I peeked out from behind the pillar. Orochimaru wore a Sound forehead protector, a green flak vest, the usual things and had jet black hair pulled back into a ponytail. _He wouldn't be walking around in his real form if Kakashi-sensei is getting so worked up about just finding out who this guy really is. _

"He will eventually seek me out. To seek the power." Orochimaru's footsteps turned and walked away. "Also. You were going to kill me? Why don't you try. If you can, that is." Kakashi-sensei was frozen to the spot for a while. He was breathing hard right after Orochimaru turned his head and locked eyes with him. _Hey… Is Orochimaru really that scary?... Even Kakashi-sensei is…_

"Arashi." I jumped and bit my lip. "You can come out now." I sighed and walked out.

"Sorry… I was really worried about him…" I said, turning my head. Kakashi picked Sasuke up.

"The things you've heard here… Don't tell anyone. Okay?" I nodded.

"Um, Kakashi-sensei… That Orochimaru guy… How strong is he?"

"He is one of the legendary Sannin. You've heard of them, haven't you?" I nodded again. "Well… I'd say that all three of them are around Hokage-sama's strength." I blinked. _This is the guy that wants Sasuke? Even when he's already that strong, too!_

"Well, let's go Arashi." Sasuke's room was a mess of wire, screens, and beeping. There were ANBU in the room at Kakashi-sensei's request. Sasuke looked different when he was asleep. His face was relaxed instead of its usual scowl, and if he was having a really good dream, he would actually smile a little. I got up from the chair I pushed against his bed and walked to the door with Kakashi-sensei. I had left a clone in there hiding on top of one of the ceiling tiles when Kakashi-sensei was outside the door. But the distance between us was too far and she poofed.

"Kakashi-sensei!, Arashi-chan!" Sakura exclaimed. After taking Sasuke to the hospital, Kakashi-sensei and I returned to the balcony above the arena. Shino's match had just ended.

"Hey." Sensei said casually, holding a hand up in a wave. Sakura and Naruto turned around.

"What do you mean, 'Hey'?! Kakashi-sensei, how's Sasuke-kun?! Is he alright?!?" Sakura asked, extremely worried.

"He's fine. He's sleeping in a hospital bed though." Kakashi-sensei answered.

"Oh!" Naruto exclaimed, looking at he board.

-Tsurugi Musumi vs. Kankuro- _Kabuto-kuns other teammate._

In the first minute of their match, I heard Musumi say something interesting. He said "In order to gather information…" _Why does it seem like Kabuto-kun and his teammates want to gather info so badly? And why would someone go as far as altering their body for the sake of getting info? _I glanced at the other side of the balcony and met Kabuto-kuns eyes. He smiled and waved and I acted normally and waved back, turning to the arena where Sakura and Ino stood. _He's standing even though his legs got cut up a lot during the end of the second exam. And that bandage on his cheek is shorter than the cut, if I remember correctly, but there's no sign of that cut. _I smirked to myself and looked back up at Kabuto. He was walking away but I had just noticed how close he and that sensei from Sound were standing. After that first encounter with them at the first exam, you'd think there'd be a grudge. _Unless…_ I looked at the sensei from Sound and from that one peek, I recognized him as that Orochimaru guy. _He was saying something about pawns in the exam. So that means that Kabuto-kun is also one of those pawns? Heh. I can use all that info they've been so meticulously been collecting._

Down in the arena, Sakura and Ino had a moment.

"Why are they all serious like that? I don't' get it." Naruto said.

"Because they were always together until they both started liking Sasuke. Along with practically every other girl that is. I still remember those days. Sakura and Ino would always do the flower arranging assignments together. I really hated that, ya kno? Sensei said I couldn't match flowers to save my life." Naruto chuckled a little but went back to being serious and watched the fight.

"I have to say…" I started. Ino had just caught Sakura with her hair scattered all over the floor. "That I didn't expect something like that from Ino." Ino used shintenshin no jutsu and Sakura was stuck.

"What? What's with Ino?" Naruto asked. When she used it, her body went limp. "And, and…! Sakura-chan seems weird… But this is your chance! Go for it Sakura-chan!!!"

"To use shintenshin no jutsu there… it's over."

"Shintenshin?" _Hey, how come Lee is over here instead of with his teammates?... _"So right now, Sakura-san is…"

"Yeah. Sakura's mind has been completely been taken over by Ino. Ino is inside Sakura. Well then. Ino's plan is most likely…" Kakashi-sensei trailed off and Ino/Sakura raised her hand.

"Yes?" Hayate asked her.

"I, Haruno Sakura, would like to-"

"Don't give up!!! Sakura-chan, you've come this far!!! If you lose to that idiot, you're never gonna get Sasuke!!!" Ino turned around and smirked. I thought she would've won too but she started shaking all over and clutched her head. _Wait, what's going on?_

"What? You want to forfeit?" Hayate asked.

"Uraaahh!!! Like hell I'll forfeit!!!" Sakura suddenly yelled.

"What?! What's wrong with Ino?!?" Shikamaru yelled. Ino released the jutsu and both of them came back.

"Two minds?... What are you…"

"Don't you know? Women have to be strong." At first, I didn't think that Sakura was capable of even coming close to beating Ino. But now, they were both pretty good kunoichi, but they're both gonna drop from lack of chakra. They ran at each other for the last punch and they knocked both of their forehead protectors off and passed out.

"Both fighters are unable to continue. This is a double knockout. The fifth preliminary match has no winner!" Hayate announced. Kakashi-sensei and Asuma-sensei brought the two girls back up to the balcony. Chouji and Shikamaru ran over. Naruto, Shikamaru, and Chouji started yelling asking Sakura and Ino if they were alright.

"Looks like we don't even need the medical team. They should regain consciousness in 30 minutes or so."

The rest of the matches were… How to say… Well except for Naruto and Lee's fight. The floor was cracked by the end of the final match from Lee's attack. "Well with this, the preliminary for the main matches have been completed!" Hayate announced. _Finally!_

"I… have something to ask you…" Sakura said slowly.

"Is it about Sasuke?" Kakashi replied. "Who know. I'm sorry to say that I don't even know all that much about him right now. Well… don't worry too much." I was leaning on the railing, picking off bits of paint from it.

"Sakura, I have to leave for a moment so be sure to listen to what the tournament instructions are."

"O… Ok."

"Hokage-sama, if you would…"

"Well, I'd like to start explaining the main test now. As I told you before, the main matches will be watched by everybody. Each of you will fight to represent the strength of your countries. I'd like you to show off your power with no reserves. Which is why the finals…" He paused, "Will be held one month from now."

"We're not gonna do it right here, right now?" Naruto asked. _Does anyone here look like they want to fight more?_

"This break, you can say, will be for preparations."

"What does that mean?" Neji asked.

"In other words… In addition to informing all the various country lords and shinobi leaders, this is the time needed to arrange for the gathering of the event and is also the preparation time for you examination students."

"I don't understand what you're trying to say! What does that mean?" Kankuro asked. I got ticked from all the stupid questions.

"He means for us to use this month to gain info and train so you don't get your ass beat in the match." I snapped, getting impatient.

"That's right. However, there are some who have showed all they can do in the preliminary rounds. And there are those who were badly injured competing against a strong opponent. To make everything fair, this one month should be used to improve yourselves. Of course, it'll be fine to rest your body as well." He talked on for a while longer. "Well I'd like to let you go now but there's something that must be done for the finals before I can do that." Anko stepped forward with a box in her hands. "There are pieces of paper inside the box that Anko is holding so each of you take one."

"I'm coming around to you so wait your turn." She started with Dosu, then Naruto, then Temari, Kankuro… "Only one now!" We all picked one and opened them up.

"All right, you all took a piece. Now then, I'd like you to tell us the number on the paper in order, starting from the left." Ibiki said, holding a clipboard and a pen.

"It's ten." Dosu said.

"I've got one." Naruto.

"Eight." Temari.

"Five." Kankuro.

"Three." Gaara.

"Nine." I said.

"Seven." Shikamaru.

"Two." Neji.

"Six." Shino.

"That would mean he's number four." Ibiki said, referring to Sasuke.  
"All right. Now I will reveal to you the final tournament!" Hokage-sama announced.

"What?!?"

"That's what we drew numbers for?!?"

"Now, Ibiki, show them the final arrangements." He held up his clipboard.

Uzumaki Naruto -----|

|-----|

Hyuuga Neji --------| |

|---------|

Sabaku no Gaara ----| | |

|-----| |

Uchiha Sasuke ------| |

Kankuro ------------| |---

|-----| |

Aburame Shino ------| | |

|---| |

Nara Shikamaru -----| | | |

|-----| | |

Temari -------------| |-----|

Tenma Arashi -------| |

|---------|

Dosu ---------------|

"Well then. You're free to start strategizing or resting as you like. With this, I'll dismiss you but are there any final questions?"

"Can I ask a question?" Shikamaru asked, raising a hand.

"Yes?"

"Since it's a tournament, that means that there's only one winner, right? Which can mean that only one person can become a Chuunin, right?"  
"No. That's not quite it. There will be judges, including myself, Kazekage-sama, lords of various countries, that will make mission requests and other ninja leaders who will be watching this final test. Throughout the tournament, these judges will be evaluating your abilities. Those judges to have the necessary qualities of a chuunin will be able to become a chuunin, even if they lose the first match."

"That means that it's a possibility that everyone here will become a chuunin?" Temari asked.

"Yes. But that also means that there's a possibility that no one here will become a chuunin. To advance in the tournament means that you have to appeal to the judges. Get it?" Shikamaru nodded. "Well then, thanks for the effort you put in, in the prelims! You're all dismissed until a month from now!"


	12. Chapter 11

**(UCHIHA) .:[Until Death Do Us Part]:. (SASUKE) - 11**

(Hi guys! My spring break was last week and I went to Vegas lol. It was alright cept for the fact that our car got broken into and all my souvenirs were stolen… D= o well, I'm over it. I saw criss angel and his show suked but he took his shirt off [woo!] lol, sry XD anyways… yeah, I have nuthin else)

"Where's Uchiha Sasuke's room?!?" Kakashi-sensei and I heard someone yell from the information desk.

"I'm sorry, but Sasuke-sama is not being allowed any visitors."

"What the hell?!?" _Hey, it's Naruto!_

"It's hard to explain…"

"Naruto-kun, don't you know you're supposed to be quiet in hospitals?" I said, walking around the corner being followed by Kakashi-sensei. Naruto turned to us.

"Oh, Kakashi-sensei!" He said with a grin on his face. "Hey, hey! I have something to ask you!"

"No need to ask, I already know what you're going to say… I found someone to look after your training." Naruto's face fell.

"Why! I wanted YOU to train me!"

"Well I've got some business to take care of so I don't have time to look after you." Naruto pouted and crossed his arms.

"I know!" He yelled, pointing at Kakashi-sensei. "You're going to train Sasuke-teme!!!!"

"Hey now… Don't say that because I've found a sensei that's more reliable than me!" Naruto put his hands on his hips.

"Who?"

"It's me!" A man said energetically. Not so energetic he'd be mixed up with Gai-sensei but not so dull as Kakashi-sensei. Turning around, it was Ebisu.

"Oh!!! You're the closet pervert!!!" Naruto yelled, recognizing him from before. Ebisu-sensei pushed up his glasses.

"Ebisu-sensei is… a closet pervert?..." Kakashi-sensei echoed.

"Why the hell does my trainer have to be HIM?!? I mean… this guy is weaker than me in the first place!! Because before, I beat him with my harem no jutsu!" Before Naruto-kun could say anything else, Ebisu-sensei covered his mouth and made some lame excuse to Kakashi-sensei. "But why this guy… I really don't like him…"

"Same goes here. If it weren't for Kakashi-kuns request, who'd want to train you!"

"Hey you two…" Kakashi-sensei attempted to settle their argument and I shook my head, throwing back a wave before exiting the hospital. I went to my apartment and sat on the floor. My hand brushed against something on the floor and I pulled my hand back quickly to look at it.

_Hey, what's that?_ There was another scroll, this time red in the middle and white on the ends.

**…**

_Hello?..._ _Weird, he's not answering…_ I grabbed the scroll and opened it up in front of me. There was a summoning symbol on it. I bit my thumb and drew a line across the symbol. There was a little puff of smoke and after it went away, there sat a cute little red panda. I bit my lip to keep from squealing but it came out anyways and I picked… him… up and hugged him.

"Aw, you're so cute!!!" He let out a sort of strangled gasping noise and I stopped hugging him and set him down on the floor in front of me. He was the size of a cat, his red and white striped tail almost as long as his body and his fur was thick and red on the top, fading into black on his belly. His ears were white and his face was adorable. Looking more like a raccoon than the black and white panda though. He licked his paw and groomed himself, I sat crossed legged in anticipation.

"Hey, kid, listen up." His voice sounded familiar, like the one I heard in the chuunin exam. "My name is Takagi." I nodded my head and watched his tail swish around.

**Don't listen to his boring speech.** The voice sounded bored and he yawned.

_Why?_

**He's just gonna tell you he's your summon and blah blah blah. You get the gist of it, right?**

_Oh. Okay then, thanks for the tip I guess._

"Hey!" Takagi hit me in the head with a bamboo stick. I rubbed my head and he pulled it towards his face and chewed off the leaves. "You weren't listening, were you." I shook my head and his eyes narrowed, annoyed at me. Suddenly, he jumped up on my windowsill and jumped down.

"Hey, Takagi!!!" I jumped out of my window and followed him.

[][][]

"Ta- Naruto-kun!" I skidded to a stop, seeing Naruto standing on top of the water and an old guy standing off to the side watching. Naruto looked over and skated to the edge and jumped off in front of me.

"Hey, Arashi-chan, what are you doing here?" Then he looked behind him and turned back to me, whispering behind his hand. "Don't use the hot springs cause that ero-sennin is here." I raised an eyebrow and looked over at the guy. "I asked him if he was a pervert and he said he was a SUPER PERV!!! Datte-mff!" Jiraiya was standing behing him with his hand over Naruto's mouth.

"Hey, kid! How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me that!" On his shoulders was Takagi. He was eating bamboo and looked bored. Naruto wrenched Jiraiya's hand off his mouth and crossed his arms.

"But it's true… Anyways, Arashi-chan who's your trainer?" I shrugged.

"Don't have one." Takagi hit me in the head again.

"Don't be stupid. To make sure you do Shinigami-sama's work right, I'm your trainer." Jiraiya looked me over.

"Takagi, you took up this shrimp?" Jiraiya asked, making a face.

"What about you? That kid doesn't look like much either."

"Hey, how do you two know each other?" I asked, looking up at them.

"I knew your dad and Takagi is the summon that was passed down to you from your dad." _Why does everyone but me know something about him. Hmph._ "Well, go away now, Naruto has a lot of work to do." Naruto was already back up on the water when the conversation started. Takagi jumped onto my shoulder.

"Bye Naruto! Good luck!" I waved and he turned, lost his balance, and fell in the water, his hand up above it waving back.

I was walking around looking for a training area when I saw Kabuto standing behind a building. He had an eerie smile on his face. I jogged over and he turned, smile gone. "Arashi, you should know, right? I'm sure you've figured it out even if Kakashi didn't tell you." I nodded. "So do you really want to be seen talking to me?"

"Well, they'll just think I don't know, won't they? Besides, I have something to ask." I paused. "What do you think Orochimaru would say if I wanted to go to him for power?"

[][][]

"Oi, Takagi." He was sleeping again, as he usually does until evening. Almost a week has already passed since our one month break started. "You say you're going to be my trainer but all you've done is sleep and eat." He grumbled and wrapped his tail over his eyes. "Takagi!" I picked him up and held him in front of me. "It's been a week and all you've done is sleep! And eat… But no training!!! What the hell!!!"

"Alright, geez. Just quit yelling." I set him down. "What level zetsumeigan do you have?"

"Two."

"I can get you to three if you want." I nodded my head. "Well then…" He started and got out a piece of chalk and started drawing on my floor. "This… training, I guess you could call it has rules. First, I'll be throwing you down a never ending hole and hope you don't die. To get to level three, all you have to do is get out before you die. Time in there is that one minute equals one day out in the real world. So if you want to make it to the main matches, get out before 24 minutes go by. That's all, you ready? Good luck!" He shoved me forward and I tripped, falling into the circle he drew before. Around me, the walls were covered in thorny branches and slime hung off of them. It was pitch black except for the light that slowly disappeared from above. I reached out to grab a branch but my hand got cut and a thorn stuck in my hand. Wrenching my hand back to me, I pulled the three-inch thorn out and noticed my hand started burning. _Must be the slimy stuff… Shit! Now how am I supposed to get out…_

[][][]

I don't know how it's been but things just got worse and worse. There were strange noises echoing up and down the tunnel.

"Sasuke!"

"_Sasuke-kun, where'd Mikoto-san go?" I turned around and didn't notice the pan on the stove get pushed a little by my swinging hair. Hearing something sizzle, I grabbed my ponytail and pulled it in front of me. The tips were burnt. "Ehh…" Suddenly, I was shoved before a crash was heard and Sasuke whimpering. "Owie…" I sat up and saw Sasuke holding his arm which was red and burnt, the pan that was on the stove on the floor. "Sasuke-kun!" I grabbed a chair and pushed it in front of the sink and made Sasuke run cold water and put his arm under it. "Itachi-kun! Mikoto-san!!!" His dad was at work and Itachi was resting after having gotten home from a mission earlier. I turned back to Sasuke. "Why'd you do that! You got yourself burned, dummy!" He turned around and smiled, as if he didn't feel his arm. _

_"Don't worry, Arashi-chan! I'll always help if you're in trouble!" Running footsteps came from Itachi's room. _

_"What happened?" He asked before seeing the kitchen. He bandaged Sasuke's arm and Itachi-kun said to keep It a secret from their dad so Sasuke's been wearing armwarmers to hide it. _

_[][][]_

"_This sucks!" I yelled, kicking the water beneath my feet. Sasuke-kun sat next to me. _

_"What?"_

_"I have to cut my hair now and it'll be short so it doesn't hurt anyone anymore." I mumbled. _

_"Don't cut your hair!" He exclaimed. _

_"Why not?" I asked, clipping off the burnt ends from earlier. _

_"Cause you look cute with long hair…" When I looked, his head was turned away and I couldn't help but smile. "B-but that's just because I like girls with long hair!" He yelled, turning to face me with his cheeks puffed out._

_"Hey, you're just a kid… How can you have a 'type' you like already?" We thought for a while before laughing. _

"I don't need your help anymore!" I dug around in my kunai pouch and got out the wire. Attaching a kunai to it, I threw it up, hoping it would latch onto something. It flew for a while and I was yanked to a stop. Swinging over to the wall, I ran up, ignoring the cuts I could feel across my legs and feet and jumped up, throwing the kunai again and repeating.

Eventually, the circle of light that seemed so far away was only a little over me. I got my hand over the ledge and jumped up. "Sasuke?..." It was him. He was holding someone up by their jacket collar, blood dripped down from his blade through their stomach. His head turned to face me, his eyes blank and his face splattered with blood. The person slipped from the sword and fell over on their back. I almost let out a gasp when it turned out to be Naruto. "Sasuke, why would you…"

"Because I can." _"Because I can"?!? What the hell kind of answer is- That's what Itachi said, isn't it. I know because I was there. Hiding, scared for my life more than Sasuke's. I was pitiful. _

"Sasuke you dumbass!" I took a step forward before feeling his blade go through my side. His face was so emotionless, the sharingan glaring down at me. Then the light faded back into darkness and I pulled out the thorn in my side. "Dammit Takagi!" _So how am I supposed to tell real from fake?! If I use the zetsumeigan, I might run out of chakra before I get to the top… _

[][][]

I've been climbing for who knows how long and I've been bleeding quite a bit.

[][][]

"Naruto-kun?" I had climbed up to another, probably fake, place. He turned around and grinned. His outfit was different and he looked older.

"Arashi-chan!" He ran towards me and I thought he would've hit me but he ran straight past me. Behind me was an older me. She carried nothing unusual save for the spiked metal club on her back. Her eyes were dark and way off into the distance stood the shadow of four people. They hugged but I could tell she was just acting. Her smile didn't affect her eyes and out of her sleeve, she pulled out a kunai. Naruto didn't notice until it was in his back. His grip on her loosened and he fell on the floor, blood dripping out of his mouth, his once bright blue eyes dull and lifeless. I felt something stick in my throat, a lump I was unable to swallow down and the shadows got closer. Before I could see who they were, I was pulled back into the tunnel, gripping the vines to keep from letting go from shock. _No way. No way no way no way… I wouldn't… I couldn't kill Naruto-kun! Never! _I rested my head on the cool brick before starting to climb up again.

[][][]

"Oh. You're back already?" I opened my eyes and saw Takagi sitting on the floor, his chin resting on his paw and a stick of bamboo in his other hand. I gave a sigh of relief as the circle at the edge of the back of my feet closed up and sat down.

"How long was I gone for?" He stood up and walked over to the chair by the window and jumped up, putting his paws on the windowsill. He motioned for me to go over there and I grunted standing up and pulled back the curtains. "This is… Konoha?..." The whole place was unrecognizable. All that was there was a large crater, broken houses and dead bodies piled up on the edge.

"By the way… The clock is still ticking." I looked at him confused. His face twisted into a sick grin, a malicious glaze took over his eyes. "You're still here." My eyes widened and I spun around, getting caught by my shoulders. Sakura was holding me still, her face looking weary and betrayed.

"Why are you working with them?!?" She demanded.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" I threw her off and got stopped by Kakashi-sensei. No. Kakashi-sensei's soul. That's what I got stopped by. "Kakashi-sensei?..." His soul was floating over his still body, bobbing up and down, looking very nonchalant like Kakashi-sensei always is. He didn't answer, of course and I turned to the circle. It wouldn't open. Panic took over me and I ran around, avoiding the people I know or perhaps will know sometime in the future and loosing my mind from all the nonsense they were saying, took out a kunai and drove it into my thigh.

[][][]

I grit my teeth and looked around. I sighed in relief, seeing the familiar darkness. But this time there was something different. There was a faint glow around everything and above my head, a dango-sized circle of light. _I'm almost there!_ Gleefully, I ran up, using bursts of chakra to propel me further.

[][][]

"Oh. You're back already?" I blinked and edged closer to the opening of the tunnel after walking over to Takagi. "What's with that stupid look on your face?" He asked annoyed.

"How long?" He counted on his fingers.

"16 days." My eyes widened. _I only took 16 minutes?!?_ "By the way… you look really messed up." I glanced at my legs which were covered in fresh cuts, dried blood, and dirt.

"I'm just going to bandage them up and look for Kakashi-sensei." He followed me to my room where I picked up a set of new clothes and headed to the bathroom. I started to run the water and took down my pigtails, brushing the knots and tangles out.

"Why?"

"He knows lightning techniques and I'm not going to face that Sand girl with only a level three zetsumeigan and the crappy jutsus I know. Turn around." He did and I took off my dirty clothes, tossing them into a pile on the floor and scrubbed out all the stuff clinging after washing my hair. "I should have other summons available right?"

"Yeah, why? Need someone specific?" I picked up the shower hose and washed off the soap and shampoo and slipped into the tub.

"You can turn around now. And I need someone that can track down Kakashi-sensei. I don't want them to be too noticeable though." He thought for a moment.

"Then call Kuromi." I raised an eyebrow but performed the jutsu anyways. The hot water really helped me feel better. Out poofed a tiny raccoon, able to fit into my cupped hands. She was adorable, just like Takagi.

"Hello!" Her voice was light and much more livelier than Takagi's.

"Hi. Can you look for someone for me?" She nodded her head and sat with her feet in front of her, her front paws brushing her tail. "I need you to find Hatake Kakashi. He wears a navy blue mask, and has tall spiked hair. Oh, and he wears his forehead protector over his left eye."

"No problem, shishou!" She hopped off of my hand and ran out the door. Takagi must've went off to somewhere so I leaned back in the water and closed my eyes.

[][][]

I heard my door get kicked in and jumped up and out of the tub at the same time Sasuke stepped in front of the doorway. I felt a super red blush and grabbed a towel, hugging it against me.

"What the hell!??!?!?!?"

"Hey now Sasuke, you didn't have to break her door…" Kakashi-sensei said, stepping behind Sasuke who was looking away, covering his eyes. Kuromi was sitting atop Kakashi-sensei's head.

"I found him like you told me to shishou!" She said happily.

"Th-thanks… Wait one sec…" I pushed the door shut and clicked the lock, dried off and changed. I left my hair down but tied the ribbons on my arm under my jacket. Opening the door, Sasuke was sitting on the couch, staring at the off TV and Kakashi-sensei was raiding my fridge.

[][][]

"So what did you need me for?" Kakashi-sensei asked once we were up on their training area.

"Well… I figured that since you're a lightning user, you could teach me something?" He looked over at Sasuke. "Just one? Please?..." I asked, sticking out my bottom lip. He sighed and rubbed his head.

"Just one. There's still quite a ways for Sasuke to go on his training." I grinned and he started to explain it to me.

[][][]

"The matches are starting tomorrow so I'm gonna head back now. Thanks Kakashi-sensei! And good luck Sasuke!" I jogged through the forest we came up here by and threw myself on my bed.

[][][]

For the last few days before the matches, I spent them learning mainly wind jutsus. Damn good ones against that Sand girl.

"Arashi! Wake up." I woke up to find Takagi tapping my head with his bamboo and Kuromi sleeping on his shoulder. I yawned and sat up, rubbing my eyes and grabbed my alarm clock. "The matches are starting in two hours, but I think you should be early since you're one of the contestants.

[][][]

I walked into the stadium through the big double doors and stood with the other Konoha ninja. The three from Sand stood together, not talking. Naruto was late and our new proctor, Genma, pulled out a piece of paper.

"Stand up straight and smile to the crowd." Our new proctor, Genma, said. "I'll show you the lineup and since Dosu can't compete so this is how the matches will work out." He held the paper up and the only change was that Temari had to fight against both me and Shikamaru. I glanced at her and she had a smirk on her face like this was going to be an easy win. "We will now begin the first match. Will Uchiha Sasuke and Sabaku no Gaara please step into the middle of the arena!" He announced loud enough for the crowd to respond in cheers. But Sasuke wasn't here and another ninja appeared, whispering something to Genma. "Since Uchiha Susuke is not here, we will postpone his match and move on to the next!" I walked over to him.

"Genma-san, I think it would be best for Temari if you started the match between me and her now instead of fighting me and then Shikamaru right after. It would be more fair that way, right?" He called the other ninja back and after a few moments, he came back down from talking to Hokage-sama and nodded.

"Then… Tenma Arashi and Temari!" Kankuro and Temari exchanged looks before everyone else started to head up to the balcony. I stopped Naruto.

"Hey, Naruto. You better win against that Neji guy." I said. He nodded and we knocked fists and I headed into the middle, standing a couple of feet in front of Temari.


	13. Chapter 12

**(UCHIHA) .:[Until Death Do Us Part]:. (SASUKE) – 12**

"Begin!" I jumped in front of her since her weak point is close combat and aimed a punch at her head. She blocked by pulling her fan from her back and jumped to the tree line.

"Reppushou." I whispered, holding my hand out in front of me. She threw off my attack by swinging her fan and launched Dai Kamaitachi (Great Cutting Whirlwind), and I bit down on my thumb, slamming my hand on the ground and used summoning jutsu. A giant panda, sitting down he took up a quarter of the stadium, appeared and blocked the wind from me. I was leaning against his back, my hand on my knee; summoning something that big took up a lot of chakra, and popped a few chakra pills.

"What was with that weak attack?" He asked snobbily (lol I don't think that's a word…) and put his front paws in front of him, rolling forward onto all four legs. He put his head down lower to Temari's level and his breath made the leaves sway on the trees. Takagi, who always seemed to be out hopped down from Nakai's back and sat on my head. Nakai started toying with Temari, swiping his paw at her and chuckling when she barely dodged.

"Hey, Takagi, the heck are you doing here?"

"I don't really know…" I plucked him off of my head and held him in front of me. "How do I send his back? This is my fight and he's not really getting anywhere…"

"Then just tell him to leave…" I set Takagi down and he scuttled off away from here as I jumped on Nakai's back and ran to his head.

"Hey, Nakai, thanks for helping out, I'll take it from here." He gave a grunt in response and poofed out. I turned on the zetsumeigan and made four or five clones who hid themselves in the smoke. Temari opened her fan and was going to blow all the smoke away so the clone in the tree above her threw down a couple smoke bombs just as she swung her fan. Then the rest of the clones and I rushed in and, you get what happened. We threw her a couple feet in front of us and held our right arm out and used Kakashi-sensei's lightning wolf attack. A pack of wolves made of lightning still attached to our hands ran out towards her. She sat there with her eyes closed and Genma stepped in between us.

"I'm ending the match here." I stopped the attack just in time, the sparks barely touching the air in front of him. "The winner of this match is Tenma Arashi!" I couldn't help but feel myself grin as he walked over and held my arm up. He let my arm go and it fell back to my side, Takagi finally came out of wherever he went and scurried up to my shoulders. "Then we will begin the matches as scheduled starting with Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuuga Neji!" He announced. I took this as my cue to leave and on the way to the stairs, Naruto and I highfived. I wasn't as bothered as much by Neji. Sure, he tried to kill his cousin, but hey, that would be hypocrisy if I said that was wrong, eh? Up in the balcony, I sat down with my legs crossed and watched the rest of the fights.

[][][]

"Hey, Arashi-chan, wake up!" Naruto said and nudged me. I groaned and opened my eyes, keeping my forehead resting on the bars.

"Sasuke!!!" He heard me yell his name and turned around. Naruto and I, unable to contain our excitement, jumped down and went to him. Shikamaru was still there after giving up to Temari. Which sort of sucks for me since I have to go up against her _again_. But hey, what happens, happens. I slapped Sasuke on the shoulder and he flinched. "Quit picking up Kakashi-snesei's bad habits! By the way, Naruto thought you were chickening out." I whispered behind my hand.

"That's right! He was just scared I would beat him." Naruto said proudly, crossing his arms and grinning. Kakashi-sensei was talking things over with Genma and walked over to us.

"Phew!" He clapped a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "They didn't eliminate you, that's good. But you guys should get out so this match can start." He said to Naruto, Shikamaru, and I.

"Just so you know, I beat Temari, so we gotta show Sand who's boss around here! Kick his ass Sasuke!" I exclaimed and threw a fist in the air. He put a hand on my head and ruffled my hair.

"Tch. Like he could beat me." I stuck my tongue out at him and walked to the stairs with the other two. We met Gaara on the stairs and Naruto and Shikamaru froze. When we were up in the balcony, I had to ask what was up.

"Hey, you guys, what happened back there?" They sat on the stairs and told me what happened in a rush so we wouldn't miss Sasuke's match and then climbed up to the balcony.

The fight had proceeded to having Gaara retreat into a ball of hardened sand, Sasuke standing outside, being watched by a floating eyeball. Sasuke tested a few punches and kicks to no avail, something he knew would happen and jumped back a bit. After unsnapping one of the bands on his wrist, he jumped back until he was well up the wall and did a few seals. And then a ball of screaming chakra erupted from his hand, the same one Kakashi-sensei used in the Bridge Mission to kill Haku. A crater formed where chidori touched and he ran down the side of the wall, picking up speed as he went and rocketed towards Gaara. Reaching his hand out, he dodged the spiked protruding from the ball of sand and punched his hand in, only getting a few small cuts in return. Naruto was standing up and gripping onto the rail, gritting his teeth, jealously seeping through. My giddiness only lasted a second until I had to turn back towards the fight, hearing the screams of Gaara. Sasuke was struggling to get his arm out and with the silence of the crowd, I could hear him struggle. He used chidori again and this time, he pulled something out with his arm.

"What the hell is that?!?" I couldn't hold in my surprise. The thing was like a glob of sandy colored horror. It was moving and had lines that were either cracks or veins and spikes at the tip of it. Gaara pulled it back through the hole and Sasuke, crouching down in front of the ball, must've seen something strange to get a facial expression like that. The sphere of sand started to crack until Gaara stood there, holding his bleeding shoulder.

"I knew it, a wound! The cocoon was broken while he was still incomplete!!!" Temari yelled a couple feet away from me.

"He looks pretty 'complete' to me…" I said sarcastically. I felt the air tense up a second before a smoke bomb covered part of the arena. Neither Sasuke nor Gaara threw it either. Explosions were heard from afar close to the gates. ANBU were popping out from every which way in the stadium, and looking in the crowd, they were all asleep except for the Jounins and ANBU. I spotted Kakashi-sensei and Naruto, who didn't dispel the genjutsu, and ran on the side of the wall to get over there. But I stopped halfway, seeing Temari and Kankuro jump down next to Gaara. Their sensei stood in front of them and Genma was in front of Sasuke. _Sasuke can take care of himself._ I ran over to Kakashi-sensei and jumped off the wall, landing next to him and Gai-sensei. "Kakashi-sensei, what's going on?" I asked, trying to keep my voice level.

"Well, to keep it simple… the Sand and Sound have teamed up against Leaf." He paused and looked at me with one eye. "Do you have enough chakra to summon that giant panda up again?" I hesitantly nodded. "Go to the gates and help the teams over there take down the giant snakes."

"Are you serious?!"

"Arashi. You are a ninja of Konoha. This is what ninja do, even at your age and skill level." He dismissed me with "Good luck." And I ran off, jumping up the high wall. Sasuke was up there as well.

"Sasuke!" He turned and my mouth opened and closed like a fish's once or twice, not knowing whether to say 'good luck' or 'don't die or I'll beat your dead ass'

"You too." He said, smirking. I nodded and spun to the sound of a large crash, the cause was a giant snake throwing itself on a couple buildings, and ran over, casting a last glance towards him.

[][][]

"Hey!" I dodged a couple kunai thrown by both Konoha and Sand ninja. "Watch it! I'm a Konoha ninja! K-O-N-O-H-A!"

"Ha! They sent a kid as backup!" One of the Sand nins said, laughing. I glared at him and used kuchiyose no jutsu and summoned Nakai who brought one of his giant paws down on the Sand nin, unfortunately crushing the small building they were standing on as well.

"Hey, Nakai! Over here!" I yelled, waving a hand. He turned and grunted. I turned to the other Konoha nins. "I'll take care of that snake, you guys and the others that are fighting him go take care of the surrounding Sand and Sound nins." They glanced at each other and shrugged off any doubt, jumping to the others. I jumped off the roof and landed on Nakai's head. "Let's go!"

(omg I kno this was ridiculously short compared to what I usually post and I sowwy!!! ~ but I swearz the next few chaps are gonna b amazingly awesome, to me they are anyways lol, so please keep reading! x // all I can say to keep you guys hooked is wait for the rooftop fight between Sasuke and Naruto! I'll keep writing while continuing to study my ass off and keeping up with lvl building my chars in PWO. And if you play and you're in sanctuary, pm me! I'll either be xXAislinnXx or xXOnigiriXx . I'm very much noobish so… yeah XD wait for me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)


	14. Chapter 13

**(UCHIHA) .:[Until Death Do Us Part]:. (SASUKE) -13**

_Taking care of a squad, giving commands and keeping track of your enemy while people are relying on you. No friggin way I can do this. _I inwardly groaned and stood up, only to fall sitting down on a pile of rubble. Nakai was able to take out two of the snakes before the ninja drove out the Sand and Sound. We took down the other snake, loosing well over a dozen ninjas. I had taken a break off of sticking my neck into the fight between Chuunins and Jounins to collect souls. Shinigami-sama was able to heal a lot of their wounds at the cost of 5 souls a person. I was exhausted from switching between worlds and Nakai went back to his world. It seemed he was somehow helping the enemy destroy part of Konoha, simply because of his giant fluffy self, having to slip between buildings, caving in a wall or two as he went. I found myself constantly wondering how Sasuke was doing.

When I had last seen him, he was sporting a few cuts and as far as I could tell, he used up quite a bit of chakra from using chidori twice. Konoha ninjas managed to have the enemy forces start to creep backwards into the forest. I started to follow, pushing myself beyond what I thought I was going to do. With a shout I followed after them and kept fighting. No more jutsus came from anyone, just Taijutsu and explosive tags. _Tatekaze no jutsu could work even if only as a suicide attack._ I took a step forward then stopped myself.

"I'm not that stupid." I muttered, just as the enemy was trapped in a tight circle. They claimed they wouldn't surrender and would rather die. But Konoha, always the kind ones, knocked them out and tied them up. Someone patted me on the back and I turned around. The guy was grinning and gave a thumbs up.

"Hey, you did pretty good for a kid!" I smiled back.

"Thanks." But our job here wasn't done yet. I managed to slip out and called Kumori to find Sasuke and the others. I found them, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke sitting down at the base of a tree. I was panting and felt my legs give out, landing down next to them. We sat in our circle for a while, panting and bumping each others shoulders with out fists, nervous laughter to break up the silence, well except for Sakura, who was passed out, and Sasuke, who doesn't do that sort of thing, so it was just Naruto and I. There was a tension in the air, something that always seemed to build up whenever Sasuke and Naruto were together.

"Hey, where the hell were you!" Naruto asked. I sent Kumori to go get someone, preferably Kakashi-sensei to help us out. I leaned my elbow on my knee, as I was sitting cross-legged, and leaned forward.

"You know those giant snakes?" Naruto nodded. "Well I beat them! And I actually fought with chuunins and jounins against the enemy ninjas! And what about you two!" I leaned forward and messed up Sasuke and Naruto's hair. "What the hell did you do to get so bloodied up!" Naruto tried to imitate Sasuke with his 'cool guy' act but broke it when he started explaining his fight.

"But I can understand where that Gaara guy comes from…" I didn't really get it. Monsters? I've herad of legends but that can't be real, right? That sand monster was just a summon. Right? Naruto is Naruto. Not some stupid nine tails fox.

[][][]

The Third's funeral was yesterday. It was raining, something that suited the event. You couldn't hear or see people sobbing over his death unless they were right in front of you. I was walking around, looking for Kumori. She had this weird urge to play hide and seek. Yeah, good luck to me. It's gonna take forever to find a raccoon that can fit in the palm of your hand. Which is why I'm cheating using the zetsumeigan! Yay! Even if she's a summon, she still has chakra. I walked past the part of town that was still in tact, and stopped in front of a dango shop. Sitting next to one of the guys in the long black cloaks with red clouds was a weird weapon. I stood by and watched as the surrounding chakra got taken in by it. Tilting my head to the side, I spotted Kumori sitting on their table.

"Kumori! I found you!" I exclaimed and plucked her up from the table. She wiggled in my grasp, flicking her tail around.

"Nyaa! You cheater! Cheater, cheater, cheater!" She jumped off my hand and ran behind someone's feet. I ran out of the building and reaching for her, bumped into the person.

"Sorry!" I said and stood up. "Oh, Kakashi-sensei? What are you doing here?" I asked and looked for her. "Kurenai-sensei and Asuma-sensei too?" Then I thought that maybe they were looking out for suspicious activity. After all, that incident with Orochimaru happened not too long ago.

"I'm waiting for Sasuke."

"For once you aren't late, Kakashi-sensei." I turned and saw Sasuke, still in that black outfit he wore since the chuunin exams.

"This only happens occasionally." The two in the coats at the table were gone. Sasuke glanced inside the little restaurant.

"I hate sweets."

"Do you?" Kumori was laying down in my arms.

"I like sweets!" She exclaimed.

[][][]

"I'll see you guys later!" Kakashi-sensei said.

"What?!" He poofed before I got an answer. "Hey, Kumori, go find him for me." She nodded and scampered off. "So…"

"I'm going home. This was pointless." He started walking away and I put a hand on his shoulder. He stopped and turned around, a questioning look on his face. "What?"

"Well… the team hasn't really been together in a while so you wanna go find Naruto and Sakura and do something?" He was going to answer when Kumori jumped up on my shoulder next to my ear and whispered to me that Kakashi-sensei was fighting the two in the cloaks. "On second thought, just keep this weekend free!" I said and ran off where she said they were at, leaving Kumori to keep him company.

[][][]

"No. We haven't seen his real power yet." _Good. They haven't noticed me yet._ I was sitting up in a tree some ways off, a long pathway with people walking by didn't even look at the fight. _Stupid or just turning a blind eye._

"It's impressive that without any Uchiha blood relation, you can use the Sharingan to that extent. However… your blood isn't like ours so that eye doesn't suit you. Why is the Uchiha clan the strongest? I'll let you experience that. Out clans true power!" Itachi closed his eyes and before he opened them, Kakashi yelled out.

"Both of you! Don't open your eyes! Keep your eyes closed!" They listened to him and shut their eyes hard. "Listen carefully… Do not open your eyes. If you do then it would be devastating. Most likely another Sharingan user could counter this technique…"

"That is correct. As long as one has the Sharingan, some resistance could be made. Against the mangekyo sharingan. However, this is a special eye jutsu. Genjutsu 'Tsukuyomi'… only another sharingan user with the same blood flowing in me could possibly defeat me!" _Sasuke. _And then Kakashi-sensei fell down, only kept on top of the water by the chakra under his hands and knees.

"Kakashi?! Are you alright?? Can we open our eyes?"

"What happened? While this guy was talking, you collapsed…"

"ugh… it isn't over yet." The two in the coats were whispering to each other. "Are you after Sasuke?"

"No. We're after the Fourth's inheritance." _The Fourth's inheritance? What is that? _

"Is what you're after… The nine tails fox sealed inside Naruto?" My eyes widened. _How come he didn't tell- Oh… he did tell me. _I jumped down from the tree and walked down the sidewalk close to where they were at. "I know that you two aren't the only ones. Your organization is called 'Akatsuki', right?"

"Kisame! Take Kakashi with us! Get rid of the other two!" They still had their eyes closed. I jumped over the railing and took out a kunai, blocking Kisame's sword, just barely.

"Arashi, get out of here! What do you think you're doing?!?" Kakashi-sensei yelled at me. There was no grip with just my chakra on the water and this guy was unbelievably strong. And then I had the brilliant idea of using Tatekaze no jutsu. Unfortunately, I had forgotten about how his sword ate chakra and it ripped right past the bubble. His sword nicked my arm and what should've been just a cut was something worse. And then a green blur came in and kicked Kisame back to Itachi. My arm suffered more than a mere cut. Good thing for me, he only got me with the tip of his sword so not that much damage was made. It was bleeding pretty badly and fixing this would have to come later.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Konoha's proud beast… Maito Gai!" He said, striking a pose.

"What a funny outfit. Are you like an exotic beast?"

"Don't take him lightly." Itachi warned his partner. Kakashi-sensei fell over and fell through, starting to sink. Gai-sensei pulled him out and onto his shoulders.

"Gai! Don't make eye contact with Itachi or you'll be affected by his jutsu!"

"I know it already! To beat Kakashi, I used to train in order to fight against the sharingan. Open your eyes you two! When fighting someone who possesses the sharingan, just don't look into their eyes and it should be alright! Look at their feet and predict their movements." They opened their eyes and tried terribly hard to stay focused.

"From what you say, I guess it makes sense."

"But you're the only one that can do that…"

"Arashi looks like she's doing fine."

"I don't focus my eyes on certain body parts when there's a fight. Hand movements and blinking objects could be used as distracters."

"Well then… That's true that a method is needed to fight someone just by looking at their feet. But in this situation, I don't have time to teach you. Just get used to it quick!"

"What's your plan?"

"Kurenai, you and Arashi take Kakashi to the medical center. Asuma will back me up." Gai-sensei handed Kakashi-sensei to Kurenai-sensei. "Before the ANBUs that I've called for arrive, we'll have to take them on."

"You've got guts…"

"Kisame, don't bother. We aren't here to fight a war. Even though it's a shame to leave, staying is meaningless. Let's go."

"Too bad." They both left, leaving ripples on the water's surface where they were at.

"Well… You guys take care of Kakashi-sensei!"

"Arashi, wait! Where are you going?" I ignored them and ran off to find Naruto. If they're after him then he's gonna die for sure. I ran and on the way, sloppily wrapped up my arm with a pad of gauze and a length of bandages.

[][][]

"Naruto?" I asked, poking my head through his window. The lights were off so I stepped inside and searched for the switch, flicking it on. His backpack was gone and his stuff seemed to be tossed around in a mess. After walking closer to his door, it was still a bit open so I pushed it closed and turned the lock. _He must've gone training or something…_ I sighed and jumped back out the window, closing it behind me. First I went to the north gate and asked the guards if they saw him pass by and then visited the other three. Finding which one he left out of, I ran in that direction, following the road.

[][][]

A little ways up, I saw a kid in an orange jumpsuit and Jiraiya, who looked like he was in another pose. "-The handsome man that can silence a child! That's me, Jiraiya!!!"

"Anyone can silence a child." I said bluntly, skidding to a stop next to Naruto.

"Hmm…" Was Naruto's reply. He started walking so I followed but Jiraiya stopped me. Naruto didn't notice and kept walking.

"Hey, kid, you should go back to Konoha."

"Uh… no thanks. I've got… stuff to do where you guys are headed. Yeah…" His face was serious, almost knowing I was hiding something. I motioned for him to come own to my height and he leaned down. "…Nevermind, i was just kidding." I jogged to catch up to Naruto who was telling me that Jiraiya was going to teach him a super awesome technique and he'll be stronger than Sasuke.

_"Sasuke-kun, thanks for saving me from that Sand guy." Sakura said. We were up on the rooftop for training. _

_"…No." His voice was strained and his fists clenched with his next words. "It was Naruto. To save you, he risked death. Up until now, you haven't really seen him, so you haven't seen his strength either." Sakura smiled to herself and glanced over at him. I was looking at Sasuke and then at Naruto. Sure, Naruto's strong but… How much stronger did he get in just one month?..._

[][][]

"Sasuke, um… I think you should stop now!" Kumori said, hopping up to his shoulder. He was panting and the rocks around him all had some number of holes in them made by using Chidori.

"I can't. Naruto… I have to get stronger than him. Why would I stop…" He readied himself to form another chidori and picked out his next target.

"Because Arashi will worry, you know?" She poked his cheek with her paw. "You know? You know?" She repeated her question and poked him continually until he held her mouth closed with his thumb and forefinger.

"…I know. But Naruto's getting stronger and stronger. Why he didn't use any of the power during the academy, I can't figure it out! And… that sort of monstrous power from when he fought that Sand guy… where'd it all come from?" He let go of Kumori and held his left arm in his right hand. _Kakashi. I'll just tell Kakashi to train me more._

[][][]

I twisted the knob and pushed the door open, finding Kakashi-sensei laying down on a futon, looking in pain. In the room were other Jounins. "Why is Kakashi sleeping?" I asked and stepped in. Kumori shrunk down on his shoulder, getting the feeling he would figure it out sooner or later. "And why are the Jounins gathered here while he's resting?"

"Well…" Gai started, interrupted by some guy who ran in the door yelling.

"Is it true that Uchiha Itachi has returned?!? And that he's looking for Naruto?!?" He spotted Sasuke. "Ah." Kumori shook her head and held on to Sasuke's shirt for dear life at the speed he was running. Gai attempted to chase after him.

"Where are you going?!?" He yelled after him. _Why is he here?! Why is he chasing Naruto?!?_

I stopped by the ramen place Naruto was always at first. Empty. The old man who works there was there. "Old man! Naruto is always here, isn't he? Do you know where he went?!?"

"Ah… Naruto. Let me think… I'm sure…" He was speaking slow enough for Naruto to get beaten to a pulp at this rate. "Jiraiya came to eat lunch with him. He said where he was going. Let's see… He was going to leave town for a bit and take the cattle-raod down to a town. Something like that. Jiraiya-san took him along when he left." _Who's that?_

"Jiraiya?..."

"A great ninja! He's one of the three sannins. He's easy to spot. A big white haired old man." I spun on my heel and ran out. "Hey!" Making sure Kumori was still with me, I remembered that Arashi used her to find people.

"Hey Kumori, help me find Naruto." Her ears twitched.

"…Uh… Who's that?" She asked. Maybe she was just playing dumb.

"Where's Arashi?" I kept running and passed the gates of Konoha.

"I don't know… She left me with you, remember?" I suppressed a sigh. _If it's the same town that old man was talking about, it shouldn't be far._

[][][]

We stopped at a hotel and Jiraiya left us in the room to go do dirty things with some lady. I was sprawled out on one of the beds, Naruto on the other one. "Geez!!! This sort of thing always happens with that ero-sennin! –ttebayo…"

"Really?" I asked, sitting up. He started rambling about all the bad luck he's had with Jiraiya, most related to his training. There were a few short knocks on the door. "I'll get it."

"Feh. So he's been rejected and already came back. Serves him right." I shook my head and slid open the door. _Not Jiraiya… Itachi and Kisame. And they're after Naruto…_ I glanced at Naruto and then hurriedly shut the door. A hand stopped it from closing.

"Hey! It was that little brat from earlier! I bet that fox-kid is in there too!" I heard Kisame yell from the other side of the door.

"Sorry, I don't talk to strangers!" Kisame was there with Itachi behind him. Naruto walked over and saw the worry in my eyes.

"Who is it? It's ero-sennin, isn't it?" They forced the door open, despite my attempts to keep it shut. Itashi stared right at Naruto, their greeting nothing short of silence and little shaking from Naruto.

"Naruto-kun, we would like you to come with us." He said calmly. Kisame took this silence as a distracter and kicked me back into the room while they pulled Naruto out. I summoned Kumori, who should've been with Sasuke unless she went back on her own. Her ears were perked up and kept looking around.

"Kumori-"

"Sasuke found out! I tried not to let him know, but he found out and he's looking for you guys! What do I do?"

"Just go get Jiraiya-san. You remember him, right?" She quickly nodded and ran off, struggling to get out through the window.

[][][]

_This isn't them at all!!_ I muttered a quick apology and ran out of this hotel into another one. _Where's Kumori? _She was with me just a second ago. _That means… That means that Itachi's already found them!_ This thought spurred me to run faster, the sharingan glaring red in my eyes.

[][][]

The door was closed and when I opened it, Kisame had his hand on the hilt of his sword, Naruto's face scrunched up in fear. I had ran out and skid to a stop in between Naruto and Kisame.

"It's been a while, Sasuke." I looked behind Itachi and Kisame and saw Sasuke there.

"Uchiha Itachi…" _He doesn't even know Naruto and I are here, does he? All he wants is to kill his brother._

"Today is a special day, isn't it? This is the second time I get to see another sharingan." Kisame said, taking his hand off of his sword.

"I'll kill you!" His eyes were frightening. I felt a shiver go down my spine just from seeing his eyes; so full of hate and disgust. Itachi hadn't even turned around yet.

"Who is this guy?"

"He is my little brother."

"…I heard that the entire Uchiha clan was wiped out… by you." Kisame replied. Naruto didn't know. Now he knew and the pieces fit together, showing him the picture for Sasuke's whole life goal. His reason to live, the only reason he could manage to come up with for the question of his life. It was to kill Itachi.

"I've been wanting to say this to you... I've lived hating you… and also that I've lived only to kill you…" Itachi stood there and stared, no look of surprise or interest sparked in his eyes. "I have lived for this!!!" He used chidori, the lightning-blue chakra burning off the bandages on his hand and arm.

"Chidori?" Itachi asked himself. With a yell, Sasuke ran forwards, his left arm which held chidori ripped apart the wall. But, Itachi, too fast to see, held Sasuke's forearm away from him, stopping the attack from having any effect. It plunged through four walls, but that was it. Sasuke gritted his teeth at him. Naruto made a hand-seal to do try to help and both Kisame and Itachi noticed.

"You bastard…" Itachi broke his brothers' wrist like a twig, getting a scream of pain from Sasuke.

"Sasuke…!" Kisame swung his sword over Naruto, stealing the chakra that was forming. _Up against a guy with power like that, most, if not all, my attacks are useless…_

"What's going on?!?" Naruto yelled.

"My Samehada eats up chakra." Kisame said proudly, holding his beloved sword in front of him. "Now that your jutsu is gone, you shouldn't be any trouble anymore. First… should I chop off an arm or a leg?" Looking at Sasuke, he was down for the count and Naruto… I can't just stand here and do nothing! I jumped on the floor in between them, landing on my hands and kicked Kisame's sword upwards, pushing from the ground. I took a defensive stance in front of Naruto. Kisame had good control of his sword and swung it around his head, aimed for my side. I pulled out a kunai to block it but it was a fake and he used his right leg to kick me into the wall. I crashed into it on my bad shoulder, busting through the wall. _Okay… right arm… officially useless. _I took deep breaths to try to put the pain in the back of my head, not thinking about it and stood up, gripping the broken wall to help stand. Kisame pulled me by a pigtail and I tripped over the rubble, bringing up my right leg for a kick to his face. My leg was bent and I stretched it out, my heel connecting to his jaw. He dropped me and brought his sword down. Just at the right time, Jiraiya came, an armored frog blocking Samehada.

"You don't seem to know very much about me…" I gave a sigh of relief and dragged myself behind the frog. "I'm better at getting girls than they are trying to get me. Even though it doesn't look like it… it's my specialty. I, Jiraiya, am the epitome of manliness! I will fall for no woman's tricks!" He exclaimed, posing again. "When you're someone like me, you'll only have to flash that sexyness to have women fall at your feet!" There was silence through the hallway, even Sasuke's harsh breathing paused for a moment. Naruto started arguing with him and Kumori bounced off of the frog.

"Arashi, are you alright?" She asked worriedly. I sat up, cringing in pain, going through a mental checklist.

"A few bruises here and there, right arm is broken." Sasuke was a crumpled heap on the floor. "Go check on Sasuke for me. And be careful." She trotted slowly along the wall and sat by Sasuke, I could only watch her mouth open; raccoons don't have lips to read, oh darn…

"Heh. So it's one of the legendary sannins, the great Jiraiya, eh? You like beautiful women but we weren't thinking that such a simple method could successfully stall you anyways."

"You know ero-sennin's real identity?!?" Naruto asked in wonder.

"In any case, it seems you've already undone the genjutsu binding the woman." I pushed myself to sit up and tried not to move my right arm. Jiraiya set the girl down, leaning on a wall.

"You guys wanted to draw me away so you used the sharingan to cast a genjutsu on a woman, huh? Not a very manly way of doing things." He stood back up and faced them. "So you really are after Naruto."

"No wonder Kakashi knew about this… you were the source of information. To "abduct Naruto"… those were the orders given to us by the higher echelons of our organization Akatsuki." Jiraiya called back the frog he summoned, leaving a ball of smoke the only thing between Naruto and Kisame's Samehada.

"You won't get him." Jiraiya said.

"And why not?"

"Because right now, and right here, you two are going to die by my hand."

"Don't do it…" We all looked at Sasuke who was standing up. "This guy… is mine!"

"I have absolutely no interest in you right now." Sasuke's face grew angrier. A moment later and he was slammed into the wall by Itachi's foot.

"Sasuke!" Naruto called out. "You assholes!" _Name-calling isn't going to do anything…_

"Naruto! I told you… DON'T!" He slumped to the ground. "This is my fight."

"Sasuke, you dumbass! You think you can do everything on your own, but…" I let out a frustrated sigh and turned my head away. He wouldn't listen to me or anyone else for that matter. Not if it was about him and Itachi.

"Come on!!!" He yelled, his voice full of anger and frustration. Itachi punched him in the gut, raising Sasuke off the ground. I saw his eyes get hazy as he grit his teeth. Itachi didn't wait to see how much damage he was doing to his own brother and kneed him in the face. Sasuke's back hit the wall with another punch to his chest. I was clenching my fist and watching, frozen to my spot, unable to help. He's going to die… Blood was dripping out of his mouth, each hit, he coughed up more.

"No mercy…" I heard Kisame say. He was leaning against the wall, a sick grin on his face. I couldn't help it anymore. Jiraiya tied my right arm down to my side and with my left arm, I stood up and glaring at Kisame, ran at him.

"Arashi-chan…!" Naruto yelled out. Kisame gripped Samehada's hilt and as he swung his sword at me, I dropped down and kicked his legs from under him. Well, tried to. He jumped back and I stood up, glancing at Sasuke. Itachi had him pinned to the wall, hand on around his neck, lifting him off the ground.

"You don't have time to be watching other people's fights!" I didn't even have time to blink before I felt my head get hit with all four knuckles and barely a second later, his elbow in my stomach. I fell forward and coughed out a puddle of blood before he flung me back to Jiraiya and Naruto. A sickening scream, something I can only remember from the forest of death, came from Sasuke. My head was spinning so horribly fast. "Itachi, I advise you against using your eye so many times in a single day…"

"Sasuke…" My head was resting in Naruto's lap, turned so that I had to bear continuing to watch.

"Assholes!!!" Naurto's voice was furious. I felt my head fall onto the floor, the impact only making my headache worse. _He should've just knocked me out…_ He ran past Kisame and Jiraiya used Ninpou gama guchi shibari(ninjutsu – toad mouth bind). The floor became soft and somewhat warm. Itachi drew his hand back when Sasuke began getting sucked into the wall.

"Too bad Itachi, Kisame. You're already in my stomach." Naruto stopped running and was looking around. There was a dull throbbing all around my head, everything around my going in and out of focus. The floor was soft and spongy, somewhat like a soft bed. "Black magic to summon the esophagus of the gait toad from Miyoki mountain, rock inn. You wanted criminals, hope you enjoy being food to Iwagama!"

"Wha… what the heck is going on here?!?" Naruto yelled. I felt something soft brush across my cheek, a blob of grey with a streak of white sat in front of me.

"Naruto stay still! Don't worry, it's just my jutsu."

"Kisame, let's go." Kisame ripped his sword from the ground that was slowly swallowing his sword and ran to catch up with Itachi.

"No one sneaks away from here!" Jiraiya yelled and slammed his hands down on the floor. The walls of flesh started to close in on the two running down the hall. A couple moments later, Jiraiya and Naruto came back.

"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled. Jiraiya had slammed his foot down, causing the walls to revert back to their normal state. He caught Sasuke as he slipped down the wall after being released from the wall of flesh. He was shaking a little and his eyes dull.

"DYNAMIC ENTRY!!!!" Came a yell following a kunai plunged into the wall. A green form jumped in and kicked Jiraiya in the face, ending up in a nosebleed. They moved me to where they were, Kumori whimpering at my beat up state. I was leaned against the wall next to Sasuke. Naruto gave up trying to start a conversation with us two nearly-dead people. My eyes wouldn't stay open any longer and they closed, my head falling to the side.

[][][]

I'd been up for some number of days now, my recovery wasn't anything complicated, and spent my days strolling through the hospital during visitor hours to Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei. Well… I talked to Kakashi-sensei some but I never went in Sasuke's room; just leaned on his wall. I was there now, twirling a couple strands of hair around my finger, holding it there for a while and then letting it uncurl.

"Miss, are you ever going to go in? Sasuke-kun can take visitors." I turned my head to the nurse who walked my way with a tray of food. The door was cracked open when she said that, seeing as she was walking inside. "You've been here since you were admitted out but you never go in." She added with a slight giggle.

"…Yeah…" I muttered, adding a smile, unsure of how to respond to that. She came back out but left the door open.

"Sasuke-kun asked for you." I blinked. _Dammit, he heard, didn't he! Nosy nurse couldn't just leave me alone. Hmph!_ I kicked off the wall to walk in but I saw Shikamaru wave from the far end of the hall. I held up a finger and walked into Sasuke's room. He was sitting upright, hands in his lap, not looking at the food but at the wall, switching his gaze to me. He was doing a little better… His eyes weren't dull and lifeless as they were on the first day. He opened his mouth to talk but I held up a hand.

"I have business to take care of, one sec and I'll get back here when I do, okay?" I didn't wait for his answer and walked back outside. Shikamaru and his dad were waiting for me outside. We exited the hospital and started climbing the stairs outside of the Hokage's building. We saw a familiar face, one I hadn't seen in a while. Some blonde lady was with him as well, I didn't know who she was.

"Hey, Naruto-kun!" I greeted, holding a hand up in a wave. "How'd you're trip to wherever go?" He jumped on me and hugged for a while before letting me go, lifting up my bangs to inspect my forehead where Kisame punched and lifted my right arm, setting it back down, and repeating a couple times to inspect my recovery.

"Naruto? What are you doing here?" Shikamaru asked after Naruto was done, and I assured him I was alright.

"Same to you. The only building over here is the ninja registration building."

"Nothing really. Just taking care of some annoying business…"

"What's that?" Naruto asked.

"How are you Tsunade-sama, Jiraiya-sama." Shikamaru's dad (whose name slips my mind…) asked.

"Aren't you from the Nara family? Who's that kid?" She asked, referring to Shikamaru. He, Naruto, and I gathered in our own little group, whispering to each other.

"Hey, Naruto, who's that woman?"

"Yeah, is she who you guys were looking for?"

"She's the new Hokage. Oh, and although she looks young, she's really 50!"

"No way!" I exclaimed, looking at Naruto, then at her, then back to Naruto.

"Naruto!" She scolded him. They must've gotten along pretty well; she's already learned about his prankster side. "Well, see you!" Her and Jiraiya started walking away, Naruto followed but turned back.

"Hey, Shikamaru, Arashi, let's meet up later, alright? I'll show you my new cool move! See ya!" Jiraiya ran over and smacked him on the back of his head. "Ow!!!"

"Stupid moron! What kind of ninja shows off his jutsu!" They walked away, jogging after Tsunade who had disappeared down the stairs.

We kept walking, Shikamaru and his dad often stopping to whisper something to each other. We came to the building where they told me there was a mix-up and I was supposed to go to the Hokage's office instead. I groaned, waved bye to Shikamaru and his dad, and walked back inside, and up the flight of stairs, only to find that she was still in the hospital. Resisting the urge to just go home, I remembered that Sasuke wanted to talk as well, and headed over there. She was a medical ninja, according to Shikamaru's dad, and was brought to heal Sasuke, Lee, and Kakashi-sensei. I went to Sasuke's room first, and found a mess. I stopped in the doorway, a crushed apple slice on the floor, a shattered plate by a chair that was shoved out of the way on their exit, and a knife plunged into the wall. I scanned the whole building with my zetsumeigan, looking for the familiar forms of Sasuke and Naruto, the only ones idiotic enough to fight in a hospital. It was hard to see everything so I went up the stairwell, inspecting every level until I saw a large concentration of chakra at the roof. I cursed under my breath and climbed the last flight of stairs, kicking the door open to the roof.

"Sakura!" I yelled and ran, my arms out in front of me. I caught up to her and shoved her out of the way, shutting my eyes tight, putting another foot in front of the other. _What the hell am I doing?!?_ Naruto and Sasuke were crashing down with chidori and rasengan. Sakura was going to be hit, stupid her running in the middle of it, and for some reason unknown to me, I pushed her out of the way without thinking. I felt one or both of their attacks on my back for a second, the cloth of the jacket burnt and ripped off. Then, late as always, Kakashi-sensei came in and grabbed them by their wrists, tossing the two into different water tanks. Sakura wobbled on her feet, her eyes wide and shaking in fear. _I can't feel my legs…_ Were my first thoughts afterwards. I fell on the ground, unable to stay standing, supported by my arms.

"Hey! You two!" Kakashi-sensei scolded. "What are you doing on the roof of the hospital? If you're fighting, you're getting too heated… both of you." Kakashi-sensei instructed Sakura to stay with me while he jumped up on the water tank Sasuke had been flung into. "Why are you so obsessed with your inferiority complex, Sasuke? That level of chidori just now isn't an appropriate technique to be used against a comrade. Were you trying to kill Naruto?" I blinked and shifted my gaze from the floor to Sasuke, then to Naruto and back. Sasuke simply replied with a glare, straight at Kakashi-sensei. Next to me, Sakura gasped. "Where did such immature behavior come from…" I tried to stand with Sakura's help and cried out in pain before collapsing back on the ground. I bit my lip and reached back, touching the singed and cut skin on my lower back. Sasuke looked at me, his eyes softening slightly. _Yeah… You better feel guilty cause I'm gonna rip out your hair one by one… You and Naruto! Friggin idiots!_ And then he back flipped over the fence with a hmph. Sakura started bawling. I would've consoled her had I not felt the searing pain like a fire burning. I summoned Kumori and asked her to get a nurse for me. Kakashi-sensei was talking to someone for a while and then jumped off the tank, crouching in front of Sakura.

"It's all right!" He said a smile hiding under his mask. "Soon, things will go back to the way they used to be!" He picked me up and took me down so I could get this stupid wound healed. I fell asleep at some point, and woke up to find myself in a hospital gown, tucked in bed, staring at an all-white room with a window to my right. I heard some voices outside and waited patiently. I found that I could feel my legs, just not move them. Bummer. The door opened and Naruto and Sasuke walked in, I saw Kakashi-sensei standing outside with his arms crossed.

"Hey!"


	15. Chapter 14

**(UCHIHA) .;[Until Death Do Us Part]:. (SASUKE) – 14**

(AARRHHHHH!!!! This chapter suks so bad!!!!! DX DX DX Sorry I haven't updated in FOREVER! I NEED SPACEEEEEE!!! But uh… anyways… Try to not click the 'X' in the top right corner before you get to the end? x sorry! Brain went splat…)

"Sasuke, yo and Naruto tell her." Kakashi said. The three of them were waiting outside Arashi's room. Kakashi had sent Sakura home. The two were silent but protested by acting like they couldn't hear him and rooted their feet to the floor. "You guys…" He said sternly. "Just because I'm your sensei doesn't mean I'll walk you through the hard stuff holding your hand. Take responsibility for what you've done. And in case you need a little motivation, it's both of your faults. Sasuke." He looked up, his eyebrows scrunched together. "you started it, letting your emotions get a hold of you and Naruto." He looked up as well. "You could've told him no but you didn't. And both of you! Jiraiya and I did not teach you those jutsus to be used against your comrades! Quit acting like little kids and take responsibility for your actions." Sasuke was closer to the door and opened it, letting Naruto go in first. He stepped in and closed the door behind him.

"Hey guys! Do you know when I can leave? I really hate hospitals." Arashi was sitting up in her bed, propped up by a stack of pillows behind her. Her long hair that was usually up was kept down, a few rebellious hairs poking out here and there. Her still happy face smiling at them, her eyes still holding their usual warmness to the two of them made them falter. Sasuke clenched his fists, held them like that for a moment and relaxed.

"You can leave whenever you want to." He said bluntly. Naruto clenched his jaw, staring hard at the floor.

"Huh? But I still can't walk yet…"

"Arashi-chan… I'm sorry…" Naruto's voice was small and it cracked at the end. "You… They said you won't be able to walk again." He spun on his heel and ran out of the room, the door bounced off the rubber on the wall where the handle hit. Arashi's face was blank and her hands gripped the sheets. Sasuke sighed and rubbed his temples, leaning on the wall he stood in front of.

"Sasuke? What did Naruto mean?" She looked at him and their eyes met for a second before he turned his head. "Sasuke! Answer me!" She demanded.

"He means what he said. Our jutsus hit your spinal cord and the nervous tissue there, cutting off the signals to your legs. The nurses and the medic-nins said they can't repair that. Your legs are fine… you just can't move them…" There was a silence and her anger was beginning to show, tension filled the air.

"Hey… Why am I getting my life screwed up when you and Naruto were the idiots?!?"

"You didn't have to-"

"And what, let Sakura die?!" Sasuke kicked off the wall and leaned on one of the rails on the side of her bed.

"You don't know if she would've died! You should've stayed out of it! Kakashi came anyways, didn't he?"

"Why should I have stood there and let her get hit, huh?"

"Because… because you had a dream! You didn't have to push her out of the way! Why did you do it anyways?" He felt sorry for her. Sorry not because it was partly his fault but just that she couldn't reach her dream. If he had a zero percent chance of killing Itachi because something like this happened to him, he'd be mad as hell and not know what to do.

"Cause I can't stand there and watch my teammate get hurt if I can do something about it. And what would you have done?" He stood up straight and put his hands in his pockets.

"I wouldn't have to make a decision like that because I wouldn't interrupt a fight." She opened her mouth, no sound coming out. She rolled her eyes and shook her head, gritting her teeth in frustration.

"I'm not going to yell about something so stupid anymore…" She took a deep breath and let it out. "Just tell me why you had to start a fight with him."

"Because I need to know that I'm still stringer than him." After some moments of silence, he took a horribly wrapped box out of his pocket and slipped it at the foot of her bed, walking out. She stared at the bump in the sheets and stretched forward to reach it. Her fingertips barely brushed the edge, only managing to scoot it farther down. She groaned and thought for a while then lay down and pushed herself down with her hands on the headboard. She threw the corner of the sheets up and stuck a finger through the uneven loop of the bow and pulled it up to her. She pulled on the end of the string and it opened up in her lap, the paper folding down on its own. Pulling the lid off, she accidentally tipped the box on its side as the door opened. The contents of the box fell out and unknown to her, got stuck in the space between the mattress and the metal form of the bed. Until the door clicked shut, she held the covers up to her chest, forming a tent with the sheets to hide the box. Waiting a few seconds to make sure no one was inside, she pulled off the covers and looked inside to see an empty box.

"Nothing…" She sighed, wrapped it up, and pushed it into the far corner of the drawer of her nightstand.

[][][]

The next day my nurse, Ayako, walked with me as I went around Konoha in my wheelchair. Yay. Plaster my name on a rolling chair and drive me around town why don't you. It was early morning and the streets were mostly empty save the few ninjas running around here and there and some shop owners getting ready for the day.

"Sakura?" I called out, seeing someone with pink hair witting down on a bench, her head in her hands with Lee next to her. I pushed myself over to her and tapped her head. She looked up.

"Arashi…" She said and sniffled.

"What's up?"

"I-It's Sasuke-kun…" I blinked. _What about Sasuke?_ "He… he left… this morning…"

"Huh? Why are you crying, he should be back before sundown if he went to go train with-"

"He went to Orochimaru!" Well, needless to say, that shut me up pretty quickly.

"Um…" I swallowed down the lump in my throat. _He couldn't have really left, could he?..._ "What about Naruto-kun?..."

"He and four others have already left to get him back." Lee answered, seeing Sakura too busy crying to form words. "But they think that Sasuke-kun isn't alone."

"Oh… Okay… Well uh… bye…" I asked Ayako to wheel me back to my room. When I got there, I pulled myself back up on my bed and not bothering to pull up the sheets, I buried my head in my pillow and cried myself to sleep.

[][][]

I woke up at noon and sat up, placing my hand at the edge of my bed. I felt something cold and pulled my hand back. Being cautious, I reached for the object and pulled out a necklace. It was the Uchiha symbol on a silver chain. _Where the hell did this come from?... Oh, duh!_ No one else would've had this except for Sasuke. I put it on and held the symbol in my hand. Someone knocked on the door and I let it fall hidden beneath my shirt.

"Yeah?" Tsunade walked in and closed the door behind her. "Hi." She stood at the side of my bed and crossed her arms.

"Do you know what happened to-"

"Sasuke?... Yeah." She sighed.

"How're you doing?"

"Uh… It's a bit to get used to. And it hasn't been too long so I guess I'm alright."

"What would you say if I said I can get you walked again?" She asked, lowering her voice. I gaped at her.

"But the nurses said-!"

"Shh!" She looked out the window and at the closed door. "I am going to say this once, and only once. It's up to you if you want to go through with it or not. And you must not repeat any of this to anyone. Am I clear?" I nodded as a signal for her to continue. "Do you know who Danzo is?" I slowly shook my head. "He's one of the Elder's and despite his sneaky actions in the past, the others in the council still trust him. Back when the Third was made Hokage, he wanted to become Hokage so badly that he sided with anyone whose plans had something to do with getting rid of the current Hokage. The destruction of the Uchiha clan was an order." My eyes widened. "Uchiha Itachi was given a command to spy on his own family and eventually kill them."

"Does Sasuke know?..." She shook her head. "…"

"He's the head of an organization called Root. I'm afraid he might send some of them out to deal with Sasuke. Which is why I'm offering you this. If I heal your legs, you will work directly under me. You will find Sasuke, watch him, and relay his actions back to me. During this time, you will be free to do whatever as long as no Konoha or allies of Konoha's ninjas are harmed or killed. The surgery will be completed over a time period of around eight or nine months." She paused. "So… Do you accept?"


End file.
